


Life's Detour

by KaptainKnuts



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Break Up, F/M, HBP AU, Slight Harry/Luna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-11-15 15:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11234283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaptainKnuts/pseuds/KaptainKnuts
Summary: One small detour alters the events of Harry's 6th year for him and his friends. When Harry begins to see his female best friend in a new light, it drastically changes and reshapes all the relationships around him and has lasting impacts on the lives of the Golden Trio. 6th Year AU. H/Hr.





	1. Chapter 1

As Harry and Ron made their way back to Gryffindor Tower following Quidditch practice, Harry wracked his brain on how to get his best friend out of his recent funk. The pressure of the upcoming match against the Slytherin team on his mind, Ron was convinced that he wasn't good enough to be on the Quidditch team. Harry couldn't understand where Ron's insecurities were coming from, he was a great Keeper. His efforts however, had done little too calm his friend's nerves by this point.

  
"Come one mate, you've got nothing to worry about. You're an incredible Keeper, you just need to see it."

  
"I guess," came Ron's reply. He acted as if he didn't really hear Harry, as his gaze remained cast down to the ground. They were coming up on a shortcut that the pair normally used on their way back to the common room, but Harry prevented Ron from turning that way with a quick arm around his shoulders. He figured that with the extra travel time he might be able to break through his friend's defenses. He ignored Ron's puzzled look as he tried reassuring him with a quick grin on his face.

  
"Besides Ron, who was it that was a part of Gryffindor's winning team last year."

  
"Yeah but you were-"

  
"No buts mate. I was only in for one game, and if you were as bad of a Keeper as you seem to think you are, then how did Gryffindor win?"

  
Ron tried to find any kind of error in Harry's statement but was unable to after a few moments, "I guess you may have a part," sounding as if he wasn't completely convinced, but the smile on his face told Harry that his efforts were appreciated.

  
The conversation continued in this manner the whole way up until they made it the portrait hole, where Harry provided the password. Once inside, they made their way to their favorite spot right by the fire where unsurprisingly, Hermione sat waiting on them.

  
As they made their approach, Harry couldn't help but notice how nice his other best friend looked. It had been a long time since he had noticed that she was, in fact, a girl, but lately he found himself realizing this more often. Even though she was just wearing her Hogwarts robes, he had to admit that she had become very pretty.

  
He was shaken from his musings when he saw the slightly confused look on Hermione's face. "Hello boys," she supplemented, receiving a reply from Harry and a subtle response from Ron. At her questioning gaze, Harry figured he should fill her in.

  
"Ron here seems to think that he isn't a good Keeper and should resign from the Quidditch team."

  
"Oh Ron, you're just nervous. You're a fine Keeper."

  
Ron looked up at her words, causing Harry to feel slightly put off that Hermione was able to have such an instantaneous effect on him. "You really think so?" Ron's voice sounded extremely hopeful, so hopeful that both Harry and Hermione couldn't help but feel for him.

  
"Yes Ron," she motioned between her and Harry, "we both do."

  
The portrait hole opened once again, revealing a ruffled looking Ginny along with her boyfriend Dean. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the pair were doing up until they decided to return to the dorms. Harry was thankful that he and Ron hadn't accidently walked in on them, if the slight tightening of Ron's fists were any indication of his reaction.

  
The trio went to bed that night, Harry and Ron so they could be rested for the game tomorrow and Hermione because she had gotten done all her assignments. As he laid down for bed, Harry could only hope that with a bit of luck, Ron would overcome is nerves in time for the game.

  
Luck.

  
An idea quickly formed in Harry's mind one that he hoped would help Ron's confidence during the upcoming game. Little did Harry know that his choices over the last few hours would change the course of him and his friend's lives irrevocably.

  
When he awoke the following morning, he found that Ron had already gotten up and presumably head down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Quickly throwing on his uniform and grabbing his bottle of Liquid Luck, he too headed down to the common room, where he found Hermione waiting on him.

  
"We'd better hurry down," she started. It was apparent that the reason for their haste wasn't simply so that they could eat enough before the game. "Ron just came through here and it seemed that he's sulking again."

  
Harry groaned internally. Even though he had planned for just this scenario, he had hoped that Ron would feel well enough that Harry wouldn't have to go through with it. Resigning himself, he decided to go through with his deceit.

  
The only snag in his plan was that Hermione would definitely not approve of it. Deciding that it was a better idea to avoid her wrath all together. Halfway down to the Great Hall, he grabbed ahold of her forearm to stop her.

  
"Hey Hermione?"

  
"Yes Harry?"

  
"I think I have a way for us to help Ron with his nerves." Hermione looked at him for a moment, unable to figure out what he could do to help out their best friend. Deciding to just come clean, Harry pulled out his vial of Felix Felicis from his robes, causing Hermione to gasp.

  
"Harry you can't do that. You know what Professor Slughorn said," he voice dropped to a near inaudible whisper, "you could be expelled."

  
"Only if I pour it in his drink."

  
"What do you mean?"

 

"All I need is for Ron to think that I poured some of this in his drink. In order to do that, I'll need your help."

  
Hermione thought about it for a few moments before nodding her head. They continued their trek down to breakfast as Harry told her exactly what she need to do.

  
Once they had made their way to the Gryffindor's table, they saw that Ron was in fact in a similar mood to how he was yesterday. Harry immediately tried to repair the damage that Ron's nerves had caused, but it seemed that he was even worse off than yesterday.

  
"I can't do this Harry. I was stupid for thinking that I could do this. We're going to have to forfeit the game," Ron continued to ramble on leaving Hermione at a loss.

  
"Listen Ron, you'll do fine," he made a show of reaching into his robes, grabbing his vial of Liquid Luck and appearing to pour it into the goblet in front of him.

  
"Here Ron," he pushed the cup forward towards him, "you'll do fine. All you need is a drink."

  
Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, Ron quickly downed the contents of the goblet. Hermione waited until he placed it back on the table before beginning her part of the plan.

  
"It was nice of you Harry to put a calming draught in Ron's drink." Ron looked to his left and saw a brief glimpse of Harry stowing the bottle of Felix Felicis away in his robes. Ron's eyes widened as he put it all together.

  
"Harry…you …my drink…"

  
"I have no idea what you're talking about Ron. Why don't you head down to the field and get ready for the game?" Harry supplied Ron with a smile, as his friend's face morphed into one of supreme confidence as he stood up from the table and left the hall.

  
Harry and Hermione followed shortly thereafter, but stopped once outside the Great Hall to have a quick talk.

 

"Thank you, Hermione. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have worked without you."

  
Hermione blushed slightly at his statement, casting her eyes away from his. "It was no problem Harry. I know I don't normally approve of such methods, but I think it's great that you're trying to look out for Ron."

  
She suddenly engulfed him in a fierce hug and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You're a great friend Harry." Before he could respond, she removed herself from his arms and continued to travel towards the Quidditch pitch, while Harry's hand drifted up to the spot she just kissed, a small grin adorning his face.

  
________________________________________  
After the game, the party in Gryffindor Tower was in full swing. The game was a complete wash out, as Gryffindor had beat Slytherin 280-0, thanks mostly in part to the amazing performance of one Ronald Weasley.

  
Under the impression that he was under the effects of Liquid Luck, Ron didn't let a single goal in all game in one of the strongest showings of a Keeper in Hogwarts history.

  
Across the room, Ron was retelling one of his amazing saves for the fourth time to the likes of Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil who both seemed to be hanging on his every word. Harry felt happy for his friend, feeling he deserved to be recognized for his performance. He made sure to tell Ron that he hadn't actually taken the potion which only caused for Ron to feel even more pleased with himself as he basked in the attention of his house mates. Harry was also thankful that some of the usual attention he received after a game was now significantly less thanks to his best mate.

  
He gazed around the room and saw many of younger students excitedly discussing the game and about their hopes to one day make the house team. His sweep continued onto both Ginny and Dean who both seemed extremely cozy off in a corner of the room. Thankfully Ron was too wrapped up in his appreciation to notice the less than appropriate position the two were in.  
His eyes finally settled on Hermione, who had planted herself onto her favorite chair, currently engrossed in one of her books. Even though she tried to appear that the atmosphere of the common room wasn't affecting her, the smile on her face was a clear give away.

  
In that moment, Harry thought she never looked more beautiful.

  
As if sensing his attention, Hermione locked eyes with Harry and gave him a small smile. He felt his face heat up slightly, companied by a strange feeling within his gut. He then saw her close her book and stand up, before taking a few steps toward him.

  
Before she could make it any farther, both her and Harry noticed Ron approaching Hermione in the middle of the room with a look of determination on his face. Hermione was about to ask him what he wanted, but was cut off when Ron wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on her lips.

  
Immediately, Harry felt an eruption in his stomach, causing it to twist into a painful knot as cheers began to erupt around the common room. He could only watch helplessly as Hermione's eyes initially went wide in shock, before closing them and melting into the kiss. The knot moved to his chest, making feel as a scaly monster was clawing at his insides. Jealousy flowed through Harry's veins as images of himself kissing Hermione ran through his mind before he had any chance to ponder it.

 

When the pair disengaged, Harry could clearly see a smile grace Hermione's face, one which he could only assumed was mirrored by Ron since his back was turned to him. Upon seeing the clear happiness on her face, Harry immediately felt ashamed of how jealous he was feeling, which was immediately replaced with a more morose feeling.

  
Still, he didn't want to see anymore, whether it was due to jealousy or to spare himself his sudden and out of nowhere heartbreak, Harry turned and made for the exit, feeling a nice long walk. If he had hesitated for just a few moments, he may have caught Hermione glancing around the room for her other best friend, followed by the crestfallen look when she noticed his absence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my take on a H/Hr 6th year story, My reasoning is that the whole Ron/Hermione/Lavender love triangle was all started by Harry and Ron catching Ginny and Dean kissing. If that hadn't occurred, then Ron wouldn't feel the need to kiss Lavender and the next most likely candidate would be Hermione. This event also may jump started Harry's feeling for Ginny. If he can suddenly have feeling for her after seeing her kissing someone, then it stands to reason that t could've just as easily happened with Hermione.  
> I hope this is a good start. I had a previous draft typed up and was happy with it, but I lost a lot of my files before I could save a back-up. This version is close but I can't help but feel dissatisfied with it. Maybe at some point I'll come back and try to rewrite this.  
> As always, thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Ron and Hermione getting together and Slughorn's Party.

  
It’s been three weeks after the Quidditch win, and three weeks since Hermione and Ron had started dating. They were quite possibly the longest three weeks of Harry’s life.

  
He was still trying to sift through his own feelings and had taken it upon himself to get some space between him and the new couple. Luckily, it seemed that the pair was also having the same idea whether they intended it that way or not.

  
Since that kiss in the common room, Hermione and Ron had been near inseparable. They appeared always be within arm’s reach of each other for the first week, and only gained a little extra distance between them during the subsequent weeks. They would sit next to each other, whispering, during all the classes that they had together, forcing him to regularly sit with Neville, which was previously a usual occurrence instead of the constant state that they’re seating arrangement currently was.

  
About the only time that Harry regularly interacted with the happy couple was during meals, except they would usually talk amongst themselves and Harry would usually talk Quidditch with either Ginny or Neville. Quidditch practice had taken over much of the time he would normally spend in the common room due to the feeling that he would rather be there than have to watch his two friends. Even though Ron was on the team and Hermione would sit in the stands and work on her assignments during practice, Harry found it easy to focus on other things and his attention would only drift to the two of them for brief periods of time.

  
He also had needed to find a new place to study and the library had surprisingly become an unexpected safe haven. Even with Hermione as his girlfriend, Ron’s abysmal study habits remained, which caused Hermione to only spend passing time in the library, opting to study in the common room so she could also help Ron with his work.

  
Harry was slowly growing accustomed to the new norm that had settled in his personal life. It wasn’t that he wanted to distance himself from his friends, it was the fact that every time he saw them together, it caused pain to blossom in his chest. Deep down, he knew why this was the case. Deep down, he knew that he had developed feelings for Hermione and even though he repeatedly tried to convince himself that it wasn’t true, the reality was that his dreams every night consisted of visions of him and Hermione together, only for her to be snatched away by Ron.

  
Harry’s wandering was interrupted when he noticed a certain trio of Slytherins coming down the staircase and heading towards the dungeon. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looked straight at him, leveled a sneer in his direction before continuing down towards the dungeons with renewed urgency.

  
“Bloody hell,” he cursed to himself, his wandering mind had cost him the perfect opportunity to fall the Malfoy and figure out what he was planning. Ever since following him in Diagon Alley and the altercation on the train, Harry wanted nothing more than to prove that the blonde git was up to something.

  
The fact that the three were coming down to the third floor sent up red flags because it was Saturday, meaning there were no classes and by extension, they had no reason to be up that way. Though these actions were suspicious, he had nowhere near enough proof to prove that Malfoy was up to anything nefarious, let alone a Death Eater.

  
Since the start of term, he taken to watching Malfoy like a hawk and using the map to track his movements when he noticed quite a few unusual details. Firstly, he noticed that, when not in class, Malfoy could be seen doing one of two things, either pacing in the Slytherin common room or he would disappear from the map entirely. When he would go to Hermione or anyone else with this information, they would dismiss it almost immediately, mostly stating that in his haste to find him, Harry simply missed him on the map.

  
The other surprising turn of events was that Malfoy had relinquished his place as Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Given the Malfoy Scion’s superiority complex, Harry would’ve thought it’d be a cold day in hell before Malfoy would ever believe that anyone else was as good of a Seeker as he thought he was, let alone give up his spot on the team to said person. Even though most people he brought this too thought it was unusual, it was still brushed off.

  
His thoughts drifted back to the day of the first Quidditch match and how that went from one of the happiest days he’d had since last year to being one that he would rather forget. He had use extra effort to stop that train of thought, as it usually led to Ron and Hermione, and then just to Hermione, and he still wasn’t particularly prepared to sort out his jumble mess of feelings quite yet.

  
“Harry m’boy!”

  
Harry groaned internally. The last thing he needed was to be around Slughorn right now. It seemed that the Professor would always show up at the most inopportune times and try to convince him to go to one of his parties, all of which he had been able to avoid up until this point. A quick glance behind Slughorn confirmed Harry’s suspicions, Malfoy and his cronies were long gone.

  
“Good afternoon Professor,” laying it on thick with the fakest smile he could muster. Dumbledore wanted him to get close to the Potions master and even though he hated the assignment, Harry carried it out.

  
“You’re just the person I was looking for. I’m having a little get-together right before the end of term and was hoping you would attend.” Harry opened his mouth to give an excuse to get out of it but was cut off. “Now I won’t be taking no for an answer. You haven’t attended any of my get-togethers so far this year, so I’ve made sure that this one wouldn’t conflict with your schedule.”

  
Harry realized that there would be no getting out of this and so resigned himself to his fate. “I’ll be there sir.”

  
A triumphant grin spread across Slughorn’s face, “Splendid m’boy. Now, don’t forget to dress nicely and bring a date. Miss Granger is already invited so you too could go together to save the hassle.”  
Harry cringed internally at his words. “Actually sir, her and my friend Ron are dating so I’ll have to go with someone else.” Even though he tried his hardest not too, he couldn’t suppress the idea that it would be nice to go with Hermione, but that wasn’t likely to happen anymore.

  
“Oh. No matter then, I’m sure you can find yourself a suitable date in a week’s time. Have a good rest of your afternoon!”

  
Harry watched the professor’s retreating form as he felt resentment settle down into his bones. He hated doing anything that put him any more in the spotlight than he already was and the fact that he had potentially attend it with someone who would just fawn over him constantly.

  
Thoughts like these plagued his mind as he made his way down to the Great Hall for dinner. He was making his way on auto-pilot, until he quite literally bumped into someone.

  
“Luna! I must not have been paying attention to where I was. Are you alright?”

  
“I’m fine Harry Potter. I was just making my way down to dinner as well. I guess the Nargles wanted us to run into each other.” Harry chuckled lightly at his friend’s antics. Even though he didn’t even remotely understand half of what she was usually on about, he felt more of a connection with her than he did any of his other friends, with the exception of Ron and Hermione of course.

  
That thought gave Harry pause.

  
“Hey, Luna?”

  
“Yes Harry?”

  
“Would you want to go to one of Professor Slughorn’s parties with me before winter holiday?”

  
Luna’s expression went from shocked, to puzzled, to finally setting on a small smile, that lit up her face despite its size.

  
“Yes, I would like to go with you.” Before anymore could be said, Luna returned to skipping her way towards dinner, leaving Harry behind with a relieved smile on his face.

  
________________________________________  
Slughorn’s Party

  
Hermione was enjoying the party immensely. The opportunity to meet so many successful members of Wizarding society was the chance of a lifetime for a witch as ambitious as her to make connections. From members of the Weird Sisters, to famous potion makers, to even a supposed vampire who was in attendance; the possibilities of the lasting relationships were endless.

  
The only slight downsides to the whole occasion was the absences of Ron and Harry. Where Harry had yet to arrive to the party, and she was sure that he would be there after hearing from Ginny that he was practically cornered and forced to attend by Slughorn, Ron on the other-hand was socially absent.

  
While he had reluctantly agreed to go to the party with her, he had absolutely no desire to mingle with any of the guests there. He started off going around with Hermione and exchanging pleasantries with whoever they came across, but after much grumbling, he eventually made his way over to Neville who was serving drinks, and would occasionally return for a few minutes before venturing off again.

  
Hermione had been annoyed at first at his lack of enthusiasm and would occasionally glance around the room for him with a stern expression, but her features would soften whenever he would notice she was looking for him and smile her way. It was still early in her relationship and there was plenty of time for him to change.

  
She still couldn’t help but smile when she thought about her relationship with Ron. In the three weeks since they started dating, there had very few fights between them and Ron seemed to be trying for her which touched her greatly.

  
“Harry m’boy! Glad you finally made it!”

  
Hermione glanced towards the door to see Harry get immediately swept up by Slughorn followed closely behind by…Luna? She was briefly puzzled by the younger Ravenclaw’s appearance but quickly realized that she must’ve been Harry’s date. She suddenly felt a little bad that Harry had had to fend for himself to find a date sometime during the last three weeks. Not that Luna wasn’t good enough per say, it was just that she didn’t agree with the eccentric girl all the time and she thought that Harry could’ve gotten someone a bit more…normal?

  
She immediately shot that thought down. Luna was one of Harry’s friends and stood with them during the fight in the Ministry. She was a step above many of the other potential dates that Harry could’ve gotten.

  
As soon as Harry could break away from Slughorn and saw her, him and his dare made their way over as Hermione beckoned Ron over as well.

  
“About time you showed up mate. We thought the party would be finished before you’d get here.”

  
“It was my fault actually,” Luna piped up, “I couldn’t decide what charms I wanted to wear, so I eventually went with some common jewelry.” Hermione had to admit that Luna did look good without he radish earring or bottlecap necklace. She also couldn’t help but notice that Harry had one of his arms wrapped around Luna’s waste. The quartet chatted amongst themselves for a few minutes, until Harry started to look uncomfortable and was focused on something behind her.

  
“Well, I guess we’ll see you guys while we’re here. Slughorn’s already motioning me over to meet some friend of his, so I’m sure Luna and I will be busy for most of the evening.”

  
As Harry and Luna walked way, Hermione looked over towards the Potions Master and saw that he was in deep conversation with another wizard, not once sparing a glance in their direction. Once the pair left, Ron decided to stay with her as she planned to continue perusing the rest of the party.

  
The party continued like that for the better part of an hour. Ron stayed with Hermione the whole time surprisingly and they were only able to meet up with Harry and Luna on a few rare opportunities. At one point Hermione lost track of Harry, finding Luna talking with Neville all by herself, but simply dismissed it as him being whisked away to meet some other friend of their Professor’s.  
Her thought drifted back to Luna again and her position as Harry’s date for the night. She couldn’t quite place what she was feeling. What was it? Sadness? Guilt? Jealousy? She didn’t quite believe that any of these were the case, deciding to instead enjoy the little bit of the party that remained instead.

  
________________________________________  
Harry walked Luna back to Ravenclaw Tower as his mind replayed the events of the night.

  
First and foremost, he thought about how Malfoy was caught trying to get into the party. After he was ousted, Harry excused himself for a moment and followed him and Snape out to an abandoned corridor where he overheard a conversation about plans, tasks, and Unbreakable Vows, whatever they were. He made a mental note to ask Ron sometime over the winter holiday at The Burrow.  
His thoughts then landed on the party itself, specifically his interactions with Hermione. When he had first spotted her, he had been overjoyed to see her, but his joy was soon squashed when he realized that Ron would be joining them and he would be forced to watch more of them interacting as a couple.

  
H remembered almost unconsciously wrapping an arm around Luna’s waste once he came to this realization, his true purpose of this action he couldn’t quite identify. If Luna had noticed or was affronted by this move, she either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

  
As their conversation continued, Harry desperately wished to try and distance himself from them to once again save himself the heartache, he didn’t even have the energy to try and deny that that was indeed what he feeling at point, and made up an excuse to leave. Most of the party continued in the same vain, he would avoid Ron and Hermione until it was impossible to do so, and would then find a reason for him and Luna to continue their way.

  
Looking over at the girl in question, Harry began to feel ashamed of himself. His mind was so occupied with either thoughts of Hermione or Malfoy for most of the night and he was beginning to feel that he had neglected his date. He opened his mouth to apologize once they were outside the entrance to her common room, but she spoke before he could.

  
“I had a wonderful time tonight Harry.” Her smile was an infectious one, causing Harry to briefly forget his guilt and return it, but the feeling returned just as quickly.

  
“That’s great. Sorry for being a rubbish date Luna,” his hand immediately went to rub the back of his neck as he looked awkwardly at the floor.

  
“Oh, you weren’t rubbish Harry.” He looked back up at her face and saw no deception in her eyes. “You were just a little distracted. It happens to the best of us. I did have a good time tonight Harry.”  
Then, before Harry could realize what was happening, Luna leaned in and quickly place a quick kiss onto his cheek.

  
“Goodnight Harry Potter.” She then turned and opened the door to her common room. Harry, having been caught completely off-guard, was only just able to respond with a quick, “Goodnight,” before the door was shut, unsure if Luna had heard him or not.

  
He still stood there for a few moments, baffled by what had just happened. He curiously raised a hand to the spot where she kissed, before smiling lightly and turning to head back to his own dormitory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: There’s chapter 2 for ya. I’ve updated the character part of this story to include Luna because as I was writing this chapter, ideas of how I could use her started to come to mind. Don’t worry though, this is still a H/Hr story, it needs to go a few different places before we reach that destination.  
> As always, thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Christmas at the Burrow was always an interesting affair. In typical Weasley fashion, everyone was bustling about the house, putting up Christmas decorations, cleaning the kitchen, and in the case of the twins who had decided to come home for the holiday, cause as much chaos as possible.

  
Having stayed at the Burrow twice before during the summer, Hermione thought she would have been used to the constant movement of the house’s occupants, but she had thought wrong. Every person in the house was constantly moving from one place to another carrying wreaths, ornaments and other decorations, while also trying to tidy up the house as best as they could. It seemed that the Weasley matriarch was hell bent on making her children all drop from exhaustion.

  
Mrs. Weasley had at first been reluctant to have Harry and Hermione help with the decorating, but relented when the pair refused to sit back and watch. They almost regretted the decision soon afterwards, when she had the pair of them rearranging the furniture in the sitting room. It was only a passing thought as they both knew that their friends’ family didn’t have to house them over the holidays and it was the least they could do. This was especially true for Harry who didn’t have anywhere else to spend the holidays besides Hogwarts, whereas Hermione was only here because she wanted to spend this Christmas with her boyfriend.

  
Once the sun had long drifted below the horizon, herself, Ron, Ginny, and Harry plop themselves into one of the many seats in the living room, getting themselves some much needed rest. Hermione had immediately taken position next to Ron on a small two-person loveseat, but she soon noticed that it had taken Harry several moments to sit down, choosing to briefly stare at the couple, before taking a seat away from the happy couple, not too far to make it awkward, but it was enough for Hermione to notice that he wanted to put some distance between her and Ron.  
She found his actions strange. Harry had never acted like this before had he? Her mind quickly searched through her memories of the past few weeks. It took her a few moments to realize that this was a recurring thing. Nearly every memory she had of Harry since she and Ron had begun dating included some little detail of Harry seemingly wanting to not get too close to the pair, which was incredibly shocking.

  
Hermione was puzzled as to what would cause Harry to act this way, and had begun to go over her memories once again before she made another startling discovery. It had passed her judgment before but now with all her interaction with her best friend for the past few months fresh on her mind, she figured out why it had been easy for her to reach her previous conclusion. The fact of the matter was that despite not meaning to do it, her and Ron had effectively neglected Harry by choosing to spend most of their time by themselves. It explained why Harry had recently taken to talking and spending more time with the likes of Ginny, Neville, and Luna lately instead of his two best friends. It also revealed why he had been so eager to leave the pair of them alone at Slughorn’s party; Harry had the impression that they didn’t want him around and was simply trying to do as they wished.

  
This epiphany saddened her, as she realized that she hadn’t been a very good friend to Harry lately. Though she supposed she could easy shift the blame over to Ron’s desire to spend quality time together, she couldn’t completely absolve herself of the blame, especially since her actions prior to their relationship also could be construed as an attempt to distance herself from him. She suddenly felt ashamed for badgering him about that damned potions book and his theories about Malfoy.

  
She decided that from now on, both her and Ron were going to try and make time for Harry, and was about to walk over to him and say as much, but decided at that moment to pull her closer and drop a quick kiss to her lips. She was very briefly distracted from her endeavor and when she managed to pull herself back from the moment, it wasn’t until after Harry had risen from his seat, stating his intent to turn in early from exhaustion, and promptly left the room, leaving Hermione to stew with her guilt for even longer.

  
________________________________________

He tried. He really did try, but watching the two of them together was still too much for him to bear.

  
Harry continued his self-appointed exile from his friends, and now that they were all together for the holidays, it made it increasingly difficult for him to separate himself from the two of them. Yes, he did enjoy their company from time to time, even going s far as to believe that the trio’s relationship was on the mend. That was until the two would transition into couple mode and he would try and excuse himself as quickly as possible, either to go and hang out with Ginny or whatever other kind of excuse he could come up with.

  
This time, he decided to head out into the garden after lunch, claiming to need some fresh air, and had taken perch next to one of the trees in the garden as his mind slowly began to drift. The more he thought about, the less his feelings were surrounded by confusion. He had come to the realization that he did harbor feelings for Hermione that went beyond friendship.

  
The thought both made him feel flighty and morose at the same time. On one hand, his recent confusion was banished away and generally set his emotions at ease. On the other hand, he realized that she could never be with him while she was dating Ron, that very thought alone was nearly debilitating. Still he resigned himself to his eternal role as ‘best friend’, and decided to work on getting his emotions in check so that he could re-establish and maintain a normal relationship with the two most important people in his life.

  
His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar ethereal sounding voice.

  
“Hello Harry Potter.”

  
Quickly standing and turning towards the voice, Harry was almost able to keep the grin off his face. “Luna! What are you doing here?”

  
“Oh, me and Dad live over the hill. I used to come over here and play with Ginny a lot when I was younger.” Her turned slightly unfocused as she appeared to be reminiscing about the past. Harry could only smile fondly at the girl’s antics. Moving before he had a full grasp on what he planned on doing, he wrapped Luna up in a quick hug catching her off-guard.

  
“It’s good to see you.”

  
She in turn wrapped her arms around Harry before returning the sentiment.

  
“How’s your holiday been so far Luna?”

  
“It’s been fun. My dad returned from an expedition looking for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. He was back in time for when I got home, but he’s out today looking for new stories to write in The Quibbler, so I decided to come over here. How about you?”

  
“It’s been okay,” Harry only partially lied, “There’s never a dull moment at the Burrow. Sometimes I wish I could get some peace and quiet.”

  
Luna suddenly got a large grin on her face, before grabbing ahold of Harry’s hand, pulling him away from the Burrow.

  
“If you want to get away for a little while, I could show you where I live. I’ve never had any friends over before.” The last statement was stated a little sadly, fading away any protest that Harry was about to have. He quickly ran inside to let Mrs. Weasley know where he was going, before returning to Luna to begin the walk to her house, unaware that the pair had caught the attention of someone else in the Burrow.

  
________________________________________  
It was the day after Christmas when Hermione finally found the opportunity to confront Harry. Every time she tried the previous day, he was quick to escape, thwarting her attempts at every turn. She had assumed that he was avoiding her and Ron to either give them time in their new relationship or because he felt awkward in their presence, but his aptitude at dodging her at every turn was something she didn’t expect.

  
Her resolve only strengthened when she witnessed Harry and Luna leaving to go somewhere, she later found out to be Luna’s house. The pair didn’t return for some time, making Hermione even more anxious as she wanted to have this conversation with Harry as soon as possible. The longer it took them to resolve this tension between the three of them, the harder it would be to repair any damage that may have stemmed from it.

  
She later saw them return to the garden and talked briefly amongst themselves. What truly shocked her was when after a brief hug, Luna leaned forward and kissed Harry on the cheek. What was even more startling, was the fact that, after recovering from the initial shock, she saw Harry return the gesture, before Luna skipped off back to her house.

  
Hermione decided then and there to force Harry to talk with her tomorrow and save their friendship. It didn’t truly hit her at how much she had actually missed out on her friend’s life until she had witnessed the display of affection that Harry and Luna shared. She was convinced that Harry had only asked Luna as his date to Slughorn’s party because he had run out of options. It appeared as though the two of them were closer than she had realized.

  
Hermione got her opportunity after breakfast when Harry had once again decided to sit down in the living room. Before he had the opportunity to notice her actions and find a way to avoid her once again, she placed herself in the seat right next to his, startling him, but ensuring that he couldn’t avoid her.

  
“Hey” she started somewhat timidly. She wished that she had come up with something better to start this conversation, but all her thought processes were used on getting him in the same room as her, let alone actually going through with it.

  
“Hey.” This was exactly what she had feared, and why they needed to have this talk; the awkwardness in the room was oppressive, and if their friendship was to survive, they needed to fix it. Before she could properly formulate a proper response, her mouth began without her.

  
“I’m sorry.”

  
This was apparently what Harry hadn’t expected to hear as his head whipped around so fast that if this wasn’t a serious situation, she might’ve laughed.

  
“What for?”

  
“For ignoring you, abandoning you. For letting myself get so wrapped in my relationship with Ron, that I forgot about our friendship and how important it was.”

  
“You didn’t abandon me,” Harry tried to reassure her. Though she appreciated that he was trying to make her feel better, it hadn’t completely rid her of her guilt. “If anyone abandoned anyone, it was me. I’m the one who wouldn’t stay in the same room as you to.”

  
“It’s not your fault Harry. I mean… it must’ve been awkward, your two best friends begin seeing each other and spending all their time lone together, leaving you by yourself.” She noticed a brief look of confusion on Harry’s face, before it was schooled to a normal expression, so she chalked it up to her imagination. “I’m sorry for putting you in that position Harry, I just want to be friends just like we used to.”

  
“Yeah mate.” Ron entered the room and sat down across from Harry and Hermione, initially annoyed that he couldn’t sit next to his girlfriend but he quickly got over it. Harry cast his eyes down to the floor, his expression unreadable for a few moments before a small smile graced his features.

  
“Me too guys,” was all he said before Hermione launched herself at him wrapping him in one of her trademarked hugs. Once she released him, Ron gave him a brotherly pat on the shoulder, while Hermione got up from her seat and sat next to him.

  
Light conversation began between the three of them, and it quickly became just like old times and the here of them basked in the returned comfortableness of their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too much to say about this one, just part of the natural progression of the story. Sorry if this chapter seems a little like filler but the next one should further the plot along nicely.  
> As always, thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry was heading back from the Quidditch pitch after a particularly good practice. He finally understood why Wood was so tyrannical during his time as Quidditch Captain, though he believed that he was different than his former captain. When Harry looked at his team, he saw all the potential that they had and wanted them to be as good as they thought they could be. He also understandably wanted to maintain his team’s status as the best Quidditch team and reigning champions for the rest of the year. Okay, admittedly, he wasn’t much different from Wood.

  
When he exited the locker room, he saw Ron and Hermione ahead of him, apparently in a heated conversation, despite the coziness that they still put off due to their arms being linked together. He decided that he wasn’t going to try and catch up to them and enter the conversation. Since returning back to school after the winter break, Hermione and Ron both tried to include him in more, which he was grateful for, but he decided that the two of them deserved some alone time, despite the fact that it appeared that they were having a disagreement. It was their relationship and Harry couldn’t be the buffer between them anymore, he wouldn’t be around all the time so they needed to resolve things themselves.

  
Though he was glad that he had his tow best friends back in his life, and made a point to spend more time with Hermione, almost as much as he did with Ron. He knew that his place was that of a best friend, and decided that if that was all that Hermione saw in him, then he would be happy.

  
At least that’s what he told himself. He had still yet to get over or come to terms with his feelings with Hermione, but damn did he try. He simply couldn’t help the fact that he greatly anticipated any time he spent alone with her, nor could he control the way that his heart felt warm due to the explosion of affection he felt every time he saw her.

  
As he thought of his friends, he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, and accidently walked into a small body. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around the person’s waist to steady the two of them. When he lifted his eyes, he was met by the sight of silver-hair and pale eyes.

  
“Oh. Hello Harry!”

  
Luna was another enigma that Harry was trying to decipher. Though he knew that his feelings for Hermione currently sat above how one normally feels for a friend, his feelings towards Luna were almost as confusing. He knew that he liked her more than he did most people he knew, especially any girls he knew, but did that mean that he liked her like he did Hermione. Obviously, his feelings for Hermione were greater due in part to him knowing her longer, but the same eventually happen with Luna? He couldn’t say for sure.

  
A soft clearing of her throat, drew Harry’s attention back to the fact that he had yet to relinquish his hold on her. He quickly disengaged himself from her waist, blushing profusely and apologized nearly as quickly.

  
“It’s alright Harry. I understand your need to make sure your friends are safe. You just wanted to make sure that the Nargles didn’t cause me to fall any further.”

  
Harry chuckled at the eccentric blonde, and motioned for her to follow as he made his way back into the castle. They walked slowly through the seemingly endless corridors of the castle, talking about nothing in particular. This had been a regular occurrence since when Harry had attempted to distance himself from Ron and Hermione, and he was thankful that they had managed to keep doing this since his attempt had been thwarted. Even though his relationship with his friends was repaired, he was glad that he still maintained the new closeness that he felt with the younger Ravenclaw.

  
“I’m curious as to why you were walking by yourself instead of with Ron and Hermione. It’s understandable though, they do seem to be attracting Wrackspurts lately.”

  
Despite not understanding what Luna actually said, he felt that the sentiment was on the right track. Part of the reason that he elected to let the two of them solve their problems themselves was because it seemed that they were back to their old ways of fighting all the time.

  
“It seems that they’re back to fighting like they used to. It’s their relationship, so it’s not my place to help them sort this stuff out.”

  
“I suppose so.”

  
The pair continued in this manner until they came to the Grand Staircase, where they usually parted to continue to their respective Common Rooms. Harry watched her retreating form for a few moments before he shook his shook his head, a small smile on his face, and resume his trek back to his dormitory.

  
As soon as he entered the Common Room, the sounds of an argument could be heard billowing from the room.

  
“All I asked was that we spend at least a little time on our studies, Ronald. We can’t neglect our school work!”

  
As Harry neared he could see that Hermione was on a roll, her hands firmly placed on her hips as she glared daggers at Ron, who had yet to even rise from his sitting position, apparently not finding this conversation as serious as his girlfriend.

  
“Come on Hermione, we have all the time in the world to work on school stuff, we can afford to spend a little more time together,” he looked at her pleadingly. He clearly still couldn’t fathom the fact that she actually enjoyed being studious. “Besides, N.E.W.T.s aren’t until next year, and we did just fine during our O.W.L.S.”

  
“Yes, but that was only because I only just managed to convince you and Harry to take those exams seriously right before they happened.” The fact of the matter was, was that that statement was only partially true. It had been easy to convince Harry that their O.W.L.s were important and get him studying, whereas Ron acted exactly as Hermione described. Harry almost felt indignant at her words, but understood that if Ron felt she was singling him out, their row would only increase in intensity. “These exams could potentially affect the rest of our lives, and you’re completely willing to squander t away.”

  
Ron simply waved her off, and called over to Seamus to have a game of chess, since Hermione seemed hellbent on studying. This was the worst thing that Ron could do, leaving and exasperated Hermione to stalk towards the exit, muttering angrily as she walked. Harry tried to grab her attention, but she didn’t seem to notice him as the portrait hole slammed shut behind her.

  
He sighed heavily, debating in his mind whether he should go after her or not. Yes, he still felt it was their issues to resolve, but he couldn’t help but notice the longing he felt inside to go after her.  
He let out another sigh, this one sounding more defeated than the previous one, and decided to take off after her.

 

________________________________________  
Hermione exited the Common Room in a huff, the faint voice of her boyfriend yelling after her, until the sound of the portrait hole closing off the rest of his cries. She needed some time to herself, fresh air and the opportunity to clear her head, something that had been rare for her in the past few months.

  
That in and of itself, was the crux of the problem. Since beginning her relationship with Ron, Hermione found that she rarely had some time to herself anymore. She had enjoyed the closeness and connectedness that the two of them shared early in their relationship, but the honeymoon period was over and though she had managed to get some alone time after a discussion with Ron, she still felt that she was being smothered.

  
She was already aware of her boyfriend’s aversion to studying and diligence in their school work, but she had thought that Ron would be more understanding of her opinions since they got together. Instead, he believed that she studied too much and tried to avoid it during their time together.

  
Her mind continued to retread the same thoughts repeatedly, until she realized that she was walking without thinking of where she was going when she realized that she had ended up in the 7th floor corridor near the Room of Requirement instead of outside as she had intended.

  
“Hermione! Wait up!”

  
She turned around to see Harry sprinting after her. She couldn’t help but smile at the worried look that she could see on his face, even from several meters away. She had noticed his attempts to stay out of her and Ron’s disagreements, but she understood his reasoning. This wasn’t an attempt to try and leave them again but letting them sort out their one problems themselves.

  
“There you are. You were moving so fast that I could hardly follow you on the map.” Her eyes cast down to his back-right pocket, where she saw a piece of parchment sticking out that surely was the map in question. Even though it was useful now in helping him find her, she knew that he kept in on him so that he could repeatedly spy on Malfoy, something that she had chastised him for plenty of times, though he had yet to listen.

  
Realizing that her mind was going off track, she glanced back up to his face and was once again overcome with emotion at the absolutely caring expression on his face. He was always worried about her, and the sentiment touched her deeply.

  
_‘If only Ron was more like him.’_

  
The thought had manifested unbiddenly, and she was surprised not only by the fact that it existed, but also by the fact that it was completely true.

  
“I heard you and Ron fighting. Are you okay?”

  
All the confusing emotions were starting to get to be too much, her eyes began to water despite her attempts to stop them. She attempted to placate him with a watery smile, but it was obviously forced.

  
“I’m fine Harry,” at his disbelieving look, she quickly amended her statement, “Alright fine. I’m not, but I will be. It’s just that I thought Ron and I were beyond all the constant bickering that the two of us would change for the better, and even though I’ve done my best to try and accept many things about him, it’s like he hasn’t even tried to do so.”

  
Harry opened his mouth as if to say something, but she watched as his jaws snapped shut and shook his head lightly. Instead, he wrapped her in a soft hug, which surprised her because she couldn’t remember a time that it was Harry who initiated a hug between them, and reassured her that everything was okay. Despite her earlier anger and other negative emotions, she couldn’t help but agree because it was Harry that was saying it.

  
Their moment was interrupted when they heard three sets of footsteps coming from around a nearby corridor, one that led directly to the Room of Requirement. Their voices were getting louder as they approached, and even though they couldn’t make out the words that were being said, they could tell by the sound of them that they were the voices of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

  
Hermione stiffened at the realization; the last thing she wanted to do was have a confrontation with Malfoy in her current emotional state. She wasn’t sure that she would be able to prevent herself from hexing him if he said the wrong thing. Ig that were to happen, Malfoy could easily run to Professor Snape and spin a story that put her in the wrong and she could potentially lose her status as a Prefect.  
She was about to grab Harry’s hand to lead him away from the approaching Slytherins, but Harry beat her to it, pulling her to a nearby broom closet, before shoving her and himself inside. As the door closed behind them, Hermione stumbled over some of the cleaning supplies lining the floor of the room and lost her balance.

  
She immediately reached out to grab onto something to stabilize herself and managed to find Harry’s arm. She pulled which righted her stance, but also pulled Harry closer causing him to bump into her, knocking the both of them off balance, causing them to wrap their arms around each other to remain upright.

  
Hermione was glad that the room was plunged in darkness, so that Harry couldn’t notice the blush that graced her face. She was about to apologize for the awkward situation but the voices of Malfoy and his cronies made her temporarily forget about their proximity.

  
“How much longer ‘til it’s done Malfoy?”

  
The footsteps slowed right outside the door. Fear gripped Hermione’s heart, she hoped that he had little reason to believe that someone was eavesdropping from the nearby broom closet. Thankfully, he continued the conversation, which allowed her to relax a bit.

  
“It shouldn’t be too much longer Crabbe. It’s taking a little bit longer to fix than I had anticipated, but it’s coming along nicely. Soon, his plan will be put into effect and he’ll praise me for my actions.”  
The conversation continued as the voices began to drift away once again. She was finally able to fully relax but noticed that Harry was leaning closer to the door in an attempt to hear more of their conversation, but had yet to relinquish his hold on her.

  
Though she still felt weird being trapped in his embrace, she couldn’t deny the fact that for reason’s unknown to her, she felt warm and secure there, she was reluctant to leave the comfort of his embrace. Stills he felt that she had to draw his attention back to their semi-compromising position.

  
“Harry?” She cursed her voice for coming out in a whisper, sounding weak which went against her usual demeanor. Her call did catch his attention, and in the darkened closet she was still able to see him turn his head towards the sound of her voice. A few moments later she felt him stiffen as he realized how they were standing, yet even more surprisingly, he didn’t release his hold on her.

  
He stared at her face, an emotion present that Hermione couldn’t place, though she wasn’t any better. She couldn’t help but stare into his green eyes. How had she not noticed how captivating the green irises were. She found herself unable to look away. She would’ve been content to just stare into his eyes for hours, but the thought was shaken away when she noticed that his face was coming closer. More startling was that fact that she was the one whose face was mobbing forward, her own shock at her movement that the fact that Harry was also inching his face closer was lost on her. She knew that she should feel ashamed for doing this, but she couldn’t find the power to pull herself out of this intimate moment.

  
The space between them continued to vanish both of them seemingly captivated and unable to prevent what was happening. As the last of the distance between them was nearly swallowed, Hermione’s legs buckled, causing her to bump into the collection of sweeping brooms behind her, scattering them to the floor with a crash.

  
The sound was enough to jolt them from their trance, they both jumped apart, putting as much distance as they could. The look on Harry’s face was unreadable as he opened the broom closet and inspected the corridor to make sure that the coast was clear. He then exited without saying a word leaving Hermione standing there as she tried to come to grips with what just happened.

  
The events of the last few moments left her deeply confused, but nothing confused her more than the fact that she had wanted to kiss Harry. She had never felt that urge before, and even more prevalent was the feeling of guilt as her mind turned to her boyfriend Ron. Before she could travel down that rabbit hole any further, she followed Harry back out into the corridor to find him already making his way back towards Gryffindor Tower.

  
“Harry, wait! What happened in there-”

  
“Forget it Hermione. It was a mistake. Let’s just forget it ever happened.”

  
Hermione could of sworn that she saw something that looked close to sadness cross Harry’s face as he said this, before turning and heading back to the Common Room, leaving Hermione to sort out her confusing thoughts and feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally got to the point where Harry and Hermione are making progress. I hope that I didn’t cram too much into this chapter by having Ron and Hermione fight, as well as have Hermione start questioning their relationship but I think it will be alright. They are still ways away from getting together, probably another 5 or 6 chapters before we completely get to there.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a stroke of luck that the weather had decided to clear up today in time for Quidditch. The weather had been nothing but dreadful all week, leaving Harry to try and prepare his team for the match against Ravenclaw in the worst conditions.

He looked down the table to see a downtrodden looking Ron and Hermione sitting next to him trying to cheer him up. His occasional scathing glare directed towards one particular Fourth year Gryffindor made it apparent to everyone why he was so down lately. Word had spread around the school quickly about what had happened two weeks prior.

On Valentine’s Day, Harry had decided to spend much of the day alone to allow Ron and Hermione to spend it as a couple spent much of the day alone despite their repeated invitations to join them and his own complicated feelings. During the owl post that day, he had received a box of chocolates from one Romilda Vane, but figuring that they may have been laced with a love potion, he threw them in his trunk and forgot about them. It wasn’t until a week later that Harry was reminded that he still had the offending sweets. Unfortunately, it was after Ron decided to eat them when Harry tossed them out of his trunk when he was looking for the Marauder’s Map. Ron ate quite a few before Harry finally noticed what had happened, but by that time, Ron was proclaiming his undying love to Vane. Having the wherewithal to try and get his friend cured, Harry quickly ushered him out into the Common Room.

Harry initially planned to take Ron to Professor Slughorn to get cured, in part so that he would have another opportunity to get the man alone, but thankfully the pair had run into Hermione there and had convinced Harry to take Ron to the Hospital Wing instead of to the Potions Master. She accompanied the pair to the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey was still awake and Ron could get treatment. Unfortunately, the potion wasn’t brewed correctly and because Harry let it sit in his trunk for a week, the potion was significantly more potent for normal. Ron felt the effects of the potion for several days, and because Madam Pomfrey wasn’t sure how if it would have any lasting effects, forbid him from playing in the Quidditch game later that week.

The last-minute change in personnel meant that Harry was forced to put Cormac McLaggen, which everyone on the team, especially Harry and Ron were not excited for. Harry because McLaggen kept acting like he was the captain of the team and would constantly argue with Harry, while Ron was annoyed because not only was Ron forced to watch from the stands while Cormac practiced with the team, but it seemed that Cormac liked to spout off about how the team was better now that he was on the team while Ron was in ear shot.

Deciding that he had enough of just sitting there in his own head, Harry stood up from the table and announced that he was going to head to the locker rooms early so that he could finally get ready for the match. He gave a sorry smile to Ron and Hermione and patted his friend’s shoulder reassuringly before heading towards the exit.

As soon as he passed McLaggen, the 7th year stood up and followed him, giving his unwanted advice on what the team should do in the match along the way.

“I know how much you like the Weasley and Thomas on the team Potter, but I think that I know 2 people who could-”

“That’s great McLaggen, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t bother me right before an important match, alright?”

McLaggen stiffened slightly, before moving to pass Harry and head down to the Quidditch pitch. As he passed, Harry managed to catch bits of mumbled words such as “Glory hogging prat”, and “doesn’t deserve to be captain”. Normally Harry would lash back, but decided against it when he remembered that Ron would be back on the team soon after this game, and let the whole thing slide.

Deciding that it was best that he detoured from the locker rooms momentarily, partly so that he wouldn’t be alone with McLaggen and partly so that he couldn’t maintain the ruse that he needed time to himself, he decided that a trip to visit Hagrid might be in order. He almost exited the Great Hall when he was stopped by a voice behind him calling his name.

“Harry!”

He turned to see Luna skipping towards him, her lion outfit conspicuously absent, but he figured that was because he was playing against her own house this time. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from grinning, the serene happiness on the girl’s face as infectious as it normally was.

“Hello Luna.”

She stood before him for a brief moment before she seemingly remembered the reason why she was there.

“Even though House loyalty prevents me from supporting you, I still wanted to wish you good luck today.”

“Thanks Luna”

________________________________________  
Hermione watched Harry deflect Cormac’s attempts at Quidditch planning and couldn’t help but chuckle as the older boy stalked off, clearly unhappy about whatever Harry had said to him. A brief glance to her left informed her that Ron had seen the interaction as well, his initial glare directed at the boy slowly turned into a small smile as he too witnessed Harry rebuff Cormac’s advice.

Hermione was glad that something was able to bring a smile to Ron’s face. Ever since he found out that he was barred from playing in this match, his mood had been sour at best. He was even more confrontational lately, seemingly finding any reason to argue with her and Harry, and if it wasn’t for the fact that his two friends were as understanding as they had been, the damage his foul mood could’ve caused would be more severe.

Still though, it was times like this where Hermione began to notice more issues in her relationship with Ron. Mentally, she knew why Ron was being so argumentative, but she couldn’t help some of the thoughts that entered her mind unbidden.

‘ _Were the things they would argue about born out his current frustration or were they there the whole time?_ ’

Prior to their relationship, Hermione had decided that she was done trying to change Ron and instead did her best to understand his position on things. Yes, she still did hound him about being more studious but that was completely for his benefit, not to try to change his whole way of living.

Early on it seemed that he had attempted to do the same, and that was part of the reason that their relationship went without a hitch for so long. Recently though, he seemed to have reverted back to his previous stance on life, and repeatedly tried to explain to her why the wizarding way of thinking, his way of thinking, was better than hers and quite frankly, she was tiring of it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Luna approaching Harry. Hermione’s brows furrowed slightly at the sight, and it hadn’t escaped her notice that this was becoming more frequent as of late. It seemed that Hermione was plagued with feelings that she couldn’t quite place every time she saw the two of them interact. The scene in front of her reminded her how Ron acted around Fleur the past summer.

‘ _Wait a minute_ ’, she briefly thought, ‘ _Am I jealous_?’

She couldn’t dismiss the feeling entirely, but determined that it must be because Harry was spending more time with the Ravenclaw girl, meaning less time with her and Ron. Despite this deflection, she also realized that her jealousy had increased in frequency ever since the events that took place between her and Harry in that broom closet, whatever that scene was.

Ever since that event, Hermione had tried to wrap her head around what happened, but she couldn’t figure out what had happened. Did Harry want to kiss her? Did she want to kiss him? Seeing how Harry didn’t act any differently in the days following the event, despite her attempts to talk about it, she figured that it was a moment of weakness on both of their parts and she decided it best to let the matter go.

At least that’s what she told herself. Though she chose to not let it affect their friendship, Hermione couldn’t stop the logical and analytical parts of her brain from observing and overthinking every action between the two of them.

She watched as Harry seemed to thank Luna for whatever encouragement that she had given him, before Luna stood up on her toes and aimed a kiss towards Harry’s cheek, landing on the very corner of his mouth, before skipping off towards the pitch. Hermione felt her stomach involuntarily clench at the bemused look on Harry’s face as he stared after the girl for a few seconds before leaving the Great Hall himself.

Hermione couldn’t shake the turmoil inside of her, her body moving on auto-pilot, and before she knew it, she was seated in the stands, the players beginning to make their way out onto the pitch. As they all filed into a circle around Madam Hooch, Hermione heard a familiar ethereal sounding voice echo throughout the arena. Her eyes locked onto to Harry as he shot of in search of the Snitch, hoping as she did during every game that he made it out in one piece.

________________________________________  
The first sensation that Harry could discern through the darkness was a throbbing pain in his head. He bit back a groan as his other senses began to take in his surroundings. He noticed that he didn’t have his glasses on and the combination of the eerie quiet, the feeling of soft linen surrounding him, and the familiar sterile smell of flowers told Harry that he was currently in the Hospital Wing.

When he attempted to open his eyes, they were bombarded by the lights of the room, which sent his head dizzying, forcing him to close his eyes or get nauseous from the sensory overload, but still having the unfortunate side effect of causing the throbbing in his head to worsen. He fought through the fog that still lingered as he wracked his brain for information on how he ended up here. He remembered making his way down to the pitch, once again deflecting how McLaggen tried to challenge his leadership. Next was the match itself where he recalled being amused by Luna’s commentary, following with McLaggen taking one of the beater’s bats and then…nothing.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened from there. Deciding that he had spent enough time in bed, he cracked his eyes slightly, fought against his upsetting stomach, and attempt to roll himself closer to the edge of the bed. No sooner had he started to move, did the pain in his head swell again, except this time, he was unable to bite back the groan before it could escape his mouth.

“Harry!”

Once he had realized that he wasn’t going anywhere, he decided to acclimate to his surroundings until he saw the shape he assumed was Hermione reach towards the bedside table and hand him his glasses. By the looks of her, she hadn’t slept since he was admitted here, which startled him a little bit because his initial assumption was that it was only hours since the match. Still the sight of Hermione sitting by him worriedly warmed his heart a little.

“How are you feeling?”  
“Like I’m going to hex McLaggen within an inch of his life,” his words earning a small laugh from Hermione.

“I would think so. Everyone was furious after what happened in the game. He shouldn’t have taken Coot’s bat and then to for him to knock you off your broom and send you falling to the ground…Ron and I were so worried.”

He saw that Hermione’s eyes were beginning to water so he reached out as far as he could towards her nearby hand, which she gratefully placed within his own, rewarding him with a small smile.

“Come now Hermione, I’ve survived worse. This was nothing compared to my fall three years ago.” He paused for a second when he saw that she didn’t appreciate his dark humor. Attempting to change the conversation, he quickly asked, “So how long have I been here for?”

Hermione hesitated for a few seconds before replying a small, “two days.”

“Two days!” he shouted, earning a shush from Madam Pomfrey for his outburst as he tried to wrap his head around this fact. Suddenly everything made sense. Hermione and Ron had to wait for two days for him to wake up, which explained why she looked so sleep deprived. Still, Harry felt as though he was missing something.

“Both Ron and I were here for the rest of the day following the match. Since then, Ron has stopped by right around meal time to see how you were doing.” Harry directed a questioning gaze towards her, her lack of mentioning herself didn’t escape his notice.

“And you?”

Hermione face lit up with a blush. “When I haven’t been in class or sleeping, I’ve been here.”

“Why?”

“I told you I was worried Harry,” she hesitated again as he watched as she visibly debated whether to speak further, “besides, you were here for me during Second Year, why wouldn’t I return the favor.”  
It was Harry’s turn to blush as he tried to formulate a response, but unable to. Instead he gave her hand a squeeze, which he hadn’t realized that they had yet to relinquish, hoping it conveyed his sincere gratitude.

The moment might’ve went on further, if the sound of the infirmary doors opening didn’t break the comfortable silence, revealing Ron as he walked in the door. When he glanced towards his other best friend, Harry caught the tail end of what looked like a glare aimed in the direction of his and Hermione’s clasped hands. Releasing her hand, Harry greeted Ron, who had suppressed his momentary unhappiness and began chatting with the other two normally. Though, Harry was thankful that he had his two best friends to keep him company, Harry couldn’t keep his mind of off the moment between himself and Hermione, and when he finally did, the mental image of the look on Ron’s face would enter his mind instead, perplexing him to no end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter suffices. I’m trying to not drag the story out, yet at the same time not have everything happen in like five chapters like I’ve seen some stories do. The next few chapters should contain more development for Harry and Hermione’s relationship so look forward to that.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry couldn’t help but lament the fact that he was inside today instead of out of the Quidditch pitch with his team. Ever since his Quidditch injury, he hadn’t been allowed to participate in his team’s practices; the position of captain was filled temporarily by Ginny since she was the only player to have been on the team the previous year. Today was supposed to be his first practice back, but a sudden and unexpected torrential downpour facilitated the cancelation of today’s practice. He couldn’t help but groan as he made his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, where he would find his two best friends. 

To say that things had been tense since his stay in the Hospital Wing would be an incredible understatement. His relationship with Hermione remained relatively unchanged. In fact, their relationship was as strong as it was before the incident in the broom closet, maybe even better. He was relieved that the awkwardness of the last couple weeks was left at the way side and they could interact normally once more.

Their relationship with Ron however, wasn’t nearly as simple. On Harry’s side of things, most of the time it appeared as if nothing was different between him and Ron. It was when their conversations would die down that Harry would detect the tension in the air. A few times he happened to catch Ron’s heated glances towards him but his friend would drop it as soon as he thought Harry would notice. His gaze was especially heavy when Ron would see him and Hermione interact.

Ron and Hermione’s relationship was also in a state of flux. The pair would commonly be seen arguing in a frequency that would rival any of their previous spats before they got together. It didn’t escape Harry’s notice that whenever Ron saw him and Hermione together, he would insert himself into the conversation and would refuse to disengage himself from Hermione’s side. In all honesty, all Ron’s behavior did was aggravate him. Thankfully, some of the tension was avoided to Hermione’s absence from Gryffindor Tower as Harry and Ron finally made it back.

Once they both got changed, they sat down in their usual chairs by the fire and began working on their school work as they waited for Hermione. As anticipated, Harry noticed the barely there glare that Ron was aiming at him, and Harry couldn’t help but liken it to the similar looks that Ron gave him when he thought Harry entered the Triwizard Tournament. He’d had about all he could handle, before the arrival of Hermione interrupted his near outburst.

When she saw the two of them, she quickly strode her way over to them, beaming initially with each step.

“Harry,” she then turned towards Ron, the smile that was just on her face fell a little, making her expression seemed a little forced, “Ronald.” It wasn’t lost on either Harry or Ron that her tone was significantly cooler towards her boyfriend, nor the fact that she used his full name. She sat down opposite the pair of them and she too began working on her homework in silence.

The encounter remained as such for several minutes, making Harry cringe internally. Was this the fate of him and the only true friends he had ever had? To not talk to one another until they all slowly drifted apart, never to once again attain the comfortability their relationship used to have. The more he thought about it, the more he didn’t want that to happen, so he decided right then and there that this had to stop. They had to repair their friendships no matter the cost.

“Have you had any success with Slughorn Harry?”

“No. He’s still avoiding me. I think he’s on to what it was that I want to ask him and he seems dead-set on not being alone with me,” he threw his arms up in the air in exasperation, “I don’t know what else I can do to get through to him. How’s Dumbledore expect me to get anything from him when he avoids me like Dragon Pox.”

Hermione tried to reassure Harry by laying a hand on his shoulder, an action that didn’t slip Ron’s notice. His eyes narrowed slightly before he redirected his attention back to his work, mumbling something under his breath about luck.

“What was that Ronald?”

Ron looked up expecting an angry Hermione but instead found a thoughtful one. Confused as to what she meant, the words slipped past his lips before he realized what he was saying.

“I said that all he needs is luck.” The way he originally meant it wasn’t the same, but in all honesty, Ron was as tired as the others with their recent friendship troubles.

“That’s it Harry!”

“What is?” said both Harry and Ron at the same time. Hermione was currently giving them a look that asked how they hadn’t figured it out themselves. She opened her mouth to tell them outright, but remembering the sensitive nature of Harry’s assignment, leaned forward and told them in a whisper.

“If all he needs is a little luck, then we know where we can get some of that.”

Harry’s eyes widened as it finally dawned on him. “The Liquid Luck!”

He quickly bolted from his seat and bounded up the steps to his dormitory two steps at a time, Ron and Hermione hot on his heels. Once at his trunk, he quickly began tossing its contents carelessly onto the floor until he found the old pair of socks where he kept the bottle of Felix Felicis.

The trio quickly set a plan in motion, well mostly Hermione. The two boys knew better than to argue with her when she got like this.

“Remember, Slughorn should be in his office right now. Once you’ve taken the potion, head right there and ask him.” Harry nodded his understanding and pulled the stopper of the top of the bottle. He made to down the potion in one go but hesitated slightly, suddenly looking very pensive.

“What’s wrong mate?”

Harry didn’t say a word for over a minute, the look in his eyes showing that he was clearly grappling with something.

“It’s just that… is this the right time to use this. I always kind of figured that I’d keep hold of it for…” He would’ve c Hermione quickly cut him off.

“Harry. Nothing is more important than finding out what Slughorn knows. We’re running out of time and this may be our only chance.” Harry didn’t seem completely convinced, so Hermione attempted to placate him a little. “How about you only take some of it now. That way we have some for later.”

He nodded his agreement before taking a single gulp of the potion. The visual effects were noticeable in and instant; it appeared to his companions that this was one of the only times that they had seen Harry truly relax since the debacle at the Department of Mysteries.

“How do you feel?” Harry stared blankly ahead for a few seconds before a small smile graced his lips.

“Brilliant! I’m going to see Hagrid.”

“Harry no! you need to find Professor Slughorn, remember?”

“I know Hermione, but I feel like I need to go to Hagrid’s, understand?”

Both Hermione and Ron shook their heads, not truly understanding what had happened to their best friend, but they weren’t able to ponder it for long before he began to head back towards the stairs. He managed to open the door a hair, but he stilled as if he was hit by sudden inspiration, before turning around and heading back over to the other two. He first made his way over to Ron and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ron met his gaze and was slightly startled by the far-away look that occupied Harry’s expression.

“Look Ron, I know that the last few weeks have bit a little off between us, all of us, but I don’t want our friendship to be ruined by whatever is going on between us. I’m sorry that you’ve had to live your whole life constantly in the shadow of your older brothers, but please don’t let it drive a wedge between us mate.”

Ron was taken aback by Harry’s earnestness. Inside, he knew that he had jealousy issues, hell, the weeks after Harry’s name came out of the Goblet of Fire was a perfect example of such, but he had never really taken the opportunity to consider how his jealousy affected others. In fact, when he really thought about it, he knew deep down that he had a lot that, when compared to Harry, he could truly be thankful for. Loving parents, supportive siblings, a place that he could call home; what did Harry have. He gave Harry a nod, causing his best mate to smile widely, before looking between him and Hermione.

“Thanks Ron. I’m glad I have my two best friends back,” and with that, he finally turned and left to go down to Hagrid’s. Though Ron and Hermione were still confused by his choice of destination, what really had them thinking was Harry’s final words before he left. His words hit them unexpectedly hard, realizing that they needed to have a conversation about their own relationship.

“He’s right you know,” Hermione began hesitantly, “We’ve all been distant lately.” She waited for Ron to meet her gaze but it almost seemed like he was too ashamed to do so. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Ron replied, finally lifting his head to acknowledge his girlfriend. “I want to say it started after Harry was in the Hospital Wing, but if I’m being honest, it’s been starting ever since Christmas.”

“What do you mean Ron?” Ron only lowered his head, as if he couldn’t look Hermione in the eye. Hermione tried to reason what Ron was talking about but it surprisingly came to her with little effort.

“Were you jealous?” His silence was just as a loud as any omission. “Because of what? Because I wanted to us to spend more time with Harry?”

“What was I supposed to think? You were there with him every day after the Quidditch game; you only ever came once after I took that potion.”

Hermione let out a huff, “You were only there for two days Ron. Harry was there for a week. Besides his injuries were life threatening.”

“What was I supposed to think? You two are so fond of each other, I couldn’t help but feel the way I did.” His voice was pleading as if he hoped that Hermione would see things from his perspective, but he knew that that was a long shot.

“It’s not a competition Ron. You don’t have to compare yourself to Harry.”

“You think I don’t know that,” Cried Ron, raising his voice for the first time during this argument, “I know that Harry’s had a hard life and that I should be thankful for what I have…” he paused to consider his words carefully,” but it’s hard when I can tell that you care for each other.”

This gave Hermione pause. It wasn’t his words that got to her, they had touched her and Harry’s relationship earlier. No, it was his conviction that startled her, as if he was so sure on what he said. Hermione’s mind raced as she thought back to her recent interactions with Harry. Since Ron started acting cold to her and Harry since his accident, she couldn’t refute that she had gotten closer to him. In all honesty, things have been changing between them ever since the incident in the closet. But she still couldn’t answer the all-important question.

_Did she care for Harry like that?_

She had never entertained the notion prior to this, but now that it was implanted into her mind, she couldn’t shake it. Still, it didn’t matter right now. Right now, saving her relationship with Ron was more important.

“Ron…” she cringed slightly at how airy her voice sounded but sensed that the situation had a sort of finality to it.

“No Hermione. I can tell that you’re conflicted right now. The look in your eyes is all I need to know that.” He looked at her with a sad smile, one that was both reassuring but heartbroken at the same time. She opened her mouth to try and get a word in edge-wise but Ron beat her to it.

“I think we should take some time to ourselves Hermione, find out what we really want.” She opened her mouth again to argue but Ron raised his hand to stop her. “I know deep down that You didn’t mean it, I’ve known you long enough to realize that, but…” he choked on his words slightly, letting her onto to how truly eaten up he was, you can’t expect me to be okay with this overnight.”

He then stood up and kissed Hermione on the top of her head before heading towards the door. He stopped momentarily to turn around and give her one last sad smile, before he left the Hermione alone with the one thought that persisted in her addled mind.

_What exactly did she want?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little difficult to write because I wanted to try and find a way for Ron and Hermione’s relationship to end without ruining their friendship.  
> I want to put this out there now, before someone complains in a review about this. Even though, Ron and Hermione’s conversation was kickstarted by the Felix Felicis, I feel as though realistically, their conversation could have gone this way. If Harry and Hermione forgive Ron and repair their relationship time and time again, then why can’t Ron and Hermione in this instance.  
> The way I see it, there’s probably about 4 or 5 chapters left so look for things to move along at a nice pace.


	7. Chapter 7

The mission to get the memory from Slughorn was a success, finally revealing the truth about Voldemort to Harry and Dumbledore. He later recounted the information about Horcruxes to Ron and Hermione during one of the few moments that the trio had together in the two weeks since he had taken the Liquid Luck.

Since that night, the trio’s relationships had improved for the most part. Much of the conversation in the Common Room and in the Great Hall that were once filled with awkward silences and stunted conversations were now filled with laughter. Though, there was still a little awkwardness between Ron and Hermione ever since their break up, the pair of them never hung out without Harry being there as a buffer. Hermione had told him about their break up the following day, but after talking with them both, he realized that they both believed thought that this was for the best and that they needed time to move past this. Still, it left him in the awkward position of not knowing how to approach any situation where interacting with them both was involved, despite their assurances that everything was fine, like today.

It was a Hogsmeade weekend, so the castle was experiencing the usual hustle and bustle associated with being able to leave the castle. In years past, Harry, Ron, and Hermione would all go to the village together and explore the shops as a group until one of them got tired of walking around all day. Recently, they would hang out together for a while, before Harry would let Ron and Hermione spend time together as a couple. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen so it left their trip today in a state of flux.

Ron was the first to stand up after they had finished eating. Judging  by the look in his eyes, what he was about to say was both reluctant on his part and potentially upsetting for them.

“Hey,” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I think I’m going to hang out with Seamus and Dean today if that’s fine with you guys.”

Dumbfounded, all Harry could do was nod. Hermione was able to vocalize her answer, wishing him a fun time, but when Harry chanced a glance towards her, he saw that tears were beginning to form in the corner of her eyes.

As Ron walked away, Harry witnessed as Hermione managed to pull herself together and give of an almost imperturbable sense of stability that would’ve fooled him if he hadn’t seen her near breakdown moments ago. Deciding that it wasn’t good for her to try and bottle it up, he scooted next to her and draped an arm around her shoulders.

“Hey,” he said in a comforting whisper, drawing her attention from the exit where Ron just disappeared to himself, “he just needs a little more time.” He could see the uncertainty that still lurked in her eyes so he tried a slightly different tactic. Bumping her shoulder, he continued, “Hey, that doesn’t mean that we can’t still enjoy ourselves, right?”

She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips and Harry didn’t believe that a more beautiful sound existed. In the back of his mind, he knew that spending the day alone with Hermione wouldn’t help his growing infatuation with her at all. She didn’t need someone lusting over her after she just went through a break-up. He was also under the impression that Ron and Hermione would end up back together eventually anyway; that was the way their friendship worked, why would their romantic relationship be any different?

Little did he know how wrong about the situation he truly was.

Hermione’s spirits had lifted considerably during her and Harry’s trek through Hogsmeade. Instead of the wall of sadness that she felt that she was repeatedly running into, she managed to have a very enjoyable time walking with him.

As the day progressed, Hermione found herself comparing Harry’s behavior to how Ron did when they were an item. Early on Ron had given an interest in what she wanted to do, but as their relationship progressed, he regressed to old habits and would complain when she wanted to  visit the book shop or purchase fresh parchment and quills, but would turn around and spend more time than she did in Zonko’s and Honeyduke’s. Harry, on the other-hand, was patient and let her browse the shops to her heart’s content, and though, he too wanted to visit the same shops as Ron, he didn’t want to spend the entire trip there and was more agreeable to simply walk around the wizarding village.

They finally entered their last stop of the day, the Three Broomsticks and sat down to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the castle. Once they sat down, got their drinks and ordered food, Hermione noticed that Harry was staring at her, a slightly puzzled expression on his face. She tried for several moments to figure out what it was. Finally, she realized that instead of sitting across from him like she would in trips past, she was sitting next to Harry for no other reason than because she wanted to.

“Today was a little weird, huh?”

Harry snapped out of his stupor at her question and quickly righted himself to appear as if nothing had happened. “Yeah, I guess. Hopefully, things will get completely back to normal soon.”

He turned just in time to catch her as she cast her eyes down to the table and softly whispered, “I’m not so sure anymore.” She had hoped that her words were quite enough to go unnoticed, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“Hey,” he said, reaching over to take one of her hands in his, “This isn’t your fault.”

“But it is,” came her immediate reply, the frustration and guilt that had built up over the past week had finally taken its toll, causing the words to tumble past her lips before she could stop them. “If it wasn’t for me, all three of us would be here today enjoying ourselves. Instead, I feel as though it’s my fault that Ron is so distant.”

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but Hermione wrenched he hand away and cut him off before he could get going. “I’m the reason we’ve all been so distant. I tried to save my relationship with Ron, but all I was doing was causing the both of us more pain.” She paused momentarily and directed her attention once more at Harry. As she briefly studied him a small smile, that did nothing to cover up her sorrow, but instead made her look all the more morose crossed her features.

“And her I am, ruining the good time we’ve been having by bringing all of this up instead of doing what I should be doing, moving on and trying to fix this,” she visibly slumped in her chair, and whispered as lowly as she had before, “I must be a terrible friend.”

Not wanting her to stew in her own bad emotions any longer, Harry quickly slid closer to her and wrapped her in a hug that he hoped was every bit as reassuring as her own were. She gratefully returned the hug, Harry’s reassurance making her feel a little better but the doubt still lingered in her mind.

“You’re not a terrible friend Hermione, so don’t even say it. How can someone who has been by my side through everything be a terrible friend?”

Hermione pulled away from him as she began to dispute what he was saying. “You’re just saying that Harry. Look at us now? How can you-”

“No Hermione, you’re not just a great friend, you’re a great person. You fight for house elves rights because nobody else will. You were willing to go up against the Ministry and helped organize an illegal group to train students how to fight, the same person, and fought alongside me at the Ministry despite knowing that it was likely a trap.”

Hermione’s mouth hung open at the sincerity in his voice. She thought about trying to refute his claims but she couldn’t get the words to form in her brain as Harry continued on.

“You’re one of the most amazing people I know, and I don’t know how long I would’ve survived without you. I know you doubt yourself, and think that you’re nothing but a bother, and that you’re not pretty compared to other girls, but to me Hermione…you’re one of the most beautiful people I know, inside and out.”

Hermione’s brain had effectively shut off. She was caught off-guard by the honesty in his voice and by the passion with which he said those things, and because of it, she couldn’t stop her heart from fluttering at his words. A warmth that she had never felt before bloomed in her chest and she for the first time, she finally understood the strange feeling that she had been experiencing for weeks.

Before she could stop herself, she hesitantly leaned forward and kissed Harry on the cheek, before reengaging their hug with more vigor. She was aware that her instincts had tried to guide her lips towards his own, but her understanding was fresh and she didn’t want to scare him away.

“Thank you, Harry,” she tearfully whispered as she squeezed her arms around him. He returned the gesture before the pair reluctantly disengaged themselves, just as their food arrived. As they began to dig into their food, Hermione’s brain tried to process everything that had just happened, but even as she processed this, one thing as absolute in her mind.

She now knew exactly what she wanted.

When the pair had made it back to the castle, Hermione was aware that their relationship had shifted unexpectedly since their talk in the Three Broomsticks. The rest of lunch had gone on with easy conversation mixed with comfortable silences. Almost unconsciously, Hermione had begun walking closer to Harry, not close enough that it would draw the attention of others, but enough that Hermione mind locked onto it the moment she noticed it.

She thought back to Ron’s words and how it was now apparent that he had been right. She did feel something for Harry. If she was being honest with herself, when she looked back at past events with her newfound clarity, she realized that she had felt something for him for a long time.

Now that she had that figured out, her brain constantly began to fret and analyze their current situation, namely, where do they go from here. She would’ve continued this line of thought further but Harry’s voice roused her from her musings.

“Look Hermione, Katie’s back.” She looked up the corridor and sure enough, there stood the 7th ear Gryffindor Chaser. She had been at St. Mungo’s ever since she was cursed weeks before the winter holiday, but now it appeared as though she was healthy enough to return to school.

Harry turned to look at her briefly before saying. “Hey, wait here a minute. I want to go see how she’s doing.” She nodded her head in affirmation and watched as Harry approached the older girl and began talking to her. She wasn’t close enough to hear the conversation but she figured it was about what happened to her as Katie shook her head and looked as though she was trying to remember something.

After about a minute of conversation, she saw both Harry and Katie down the corridor behind her, Katie’s eyes widening with shock as Harry’s narrowed in anger. She whipped her head around to catch what had cause their respective reactions, but whatever the pair had seen was gone by the time she looked behind her. When she looked forward again, she was greeted by the sight of a visibly angry Harry moving past her at a brisk pace in the direction of whatever disturbance he had just witnessed.

“Harry,” she cried out but he seemed to not notice her voice as he rounded the corner and the sound of hi running faster met her ears. Panic began to plague her mind as she tried to figure out what was going on. She quickly moved up to Katie and asked her what they had seen.

“He asked me who cursed me,” began the older girl, as she tried to recover from the shock of whatever she saw, “at first I couldn’t remember but then,” she paused as she look down the hall again, the worry evident on her face.

“What? What did you see?”

“Malfoy.”

At the mention of the Slytherin’s name, she finally understood. Katie recognized Malfoy as the one who cursed, which was why Harry took off down the corridor; they had seen Malfoy.

Without further thought, Hermione turned and took off as fast as she could after Harry. She couldn’t stop the thoughts of all the terrible thing that could happen if Harry confronted Malfoy, but even more prevalent was the thought that Harry had been right about Malfoy. He truly was up to something, and if he wasn’t above cursing a student to try and smuggle in a cursed necklace, who know what he would do if Harry tried to stop him.

After running several moments, Hermione nearly lost hope in finding Harry, his head start making it hard for her to determine where he had run off to. She was about to give up hope when the sound of distant spell fire caught her attention, making her fear for the worst.

She continued on to the source of the sounds and found herself outside Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. Memories from their 2nd year briefly entered her mind until one voice rang out from within the bathroom.

_‘Sectumsempra!’_

Hermione’s heart nearly stopped as she burst through the bathroom door, only to find a terrifying sight on the other side.

Laying there on the floor, as blood poured from what seemed like hundreds of lacerations…was Harry.

She immediately knelt down next to him began muttering every healing charm she could think of but to no avail, as Myrtle screamed bloody murder from a few feet above. She was too focused on trying everything she could to stop Harry’s bleeding to notice that Malfoy had chosen to turn and run from the lavatory before help could arrive.

She eventually came to the conclusion that none of her spells were working, and in a near hysterical state, attempted to rouse him from unconsciousness in the hopes that he would wake up.

“Harry!”

No response.

“Harry, please!”

Still she got no response.

“Wake up Harry! Don’t do this! I don’t want to lose you!”

She continued her attempts to rouse him with no success until the bathroom door opened to reel Professor Snape. She saw a flicker of what she thought was realization flash across his eyes, as he too knelt down next to Harry and began uttering an incantation that she had never heard before.

Thankfully, whatever spell he was using was working as the wounds in Harry’s chest closed up. Once he began breathing again, Snape levitated him into the air and began taking him to the hospital wing, with a still hysterical Hermione following briskly behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know that that was probably a weird place to end the chapter but I felt that it was a fitting cliffhanger to end it on. It’s been a head-canon of mine that Snape would’ve probably taught Sectumsempra to Malfoy and a while back I had read a one-shot that has since been taken down, where Draco uses it on Harry instead of the other way around.  
> I tried to right the scene where Hermione realizes that she really does have feelings for Harry but it was hard to write. I hope I’ve done a good enough job and that people would by the way that it unfurls.


	8. Chapter 8

Today in the Hospital Wing appeared to be continuing just like the days before it. Students came and staff alike came and went, most only staying for a few hours, while others stayed overnight and were released the next morning. This was the case for all except for two occupants.

Hermione slowly woke up from a brief nap and looked towards her best friend, but saw no difference in his condition. Today was the 5th day of Harry’s stay since his duel with Malfoy and he had remained unconscious for most of his stay, except for a moment when he awoke and was screaming in pain shortly after arriving, forcing Madam Pomfrey to put in a magical coma until his condition improved.

Twisting her neck to try and relieve some of the stiffness Hermione glanced around the room and noticed that her and Harry were the only occupants of the room. She relished the peace and quiet and used the time to check Harry over once again. Sadly, he was still as motionless as he had been in the days prior, only the slow rise and fall of his chest revealing that he was still okay.

Glancing towards his bedside table, she noticed a small pile of parchment and books stacked on the corner nearest her, causing a small smile to grace her lips. She had spent the first day at Harry’s side, only leaving briefly for meals and to go to the lavatory. She was prepared to spend the next day there as well, until Professor McGonagall had set her straight and forced her to attend classes. She still spent every other moment there with him, forgetting her assignments in Gryffindor Tower more often than not. Thankfully, either Ginny or Neville would bring her stuff to her, but she found it hard to focus when Harry’s recovery seemed more important.

She had not been his only visitor. The Quidditch team visited the first day and offered their condolences, along with a few former members of the DA. Hermione found herself surprised when Ron and Ginny showed up the second day along with their parents, the Twins, and Bill and Fleur. She chastised herself for thinking like that, they saw Harry as a member of their family, much like how Harry felt about them. They too stayed for many hours talking with Hermione, trying to assure her and the two younger Weasley’s that Harry would pull through. When they left, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all received hugs from the other Weasleys while both Molly and Fleur gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. Hermione bristled a little when Fleur leaned did so, a reaction that was not lost on Ron if the expression on his face was any indication.

Her relationship with Ron had definitely improved since Harry had been admitted but there was still an awkward tension that hung between them. Ron would visit often, usually hanging around before their first class and then again after dinner for a few hours but never for more than a few hours. He and Hermione would engage in casual conversation but they stayed far away from anything related to their relationship and whenever Hermione would hold Harry’s hand or brush his bangs from his forehead he would quickly avert his eyes.

She once again looked down at the boy in front of her and felt a swell of affection course through her body. Though she had been making progress on her feelings leading up to the incident with Malfoy, but since then even she couldn’t deny what she was feeling. The thought of losing Harry nearly ripped her heart out and she finally had to accept that she held romantic feelings for her other best friend. She moved her hand to brush the fringe from his forehead, her hand trailing down to his cheek when the sound of a shoe scuffling behind her startled her.

Whipping around she saw Ron approaching, a look of discomfort on his face.

“Sorry for startling you. I noticed you had a far-away look when I came in and tried to leave quietly.”

Hermione couldn’t stop the small grin from growing on her face. “Yes, well subtlety has never been your strong suit.” Her jest was awarded with a small chuckle from Ron as he decided to sit in the chair opposite her. They sat in a comfortable silence for several moments, Hermione stroking Harry’s hand lightly. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed that Ron hadn’t averted his eyes as he usually did, instead his expression was one that she couldn’t immediately recognized.

“Hey, Hermione?”

“Yes Ron?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and she could see that he was mumbling to himself. “Look…I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting lately. I knew things were going to be awkward after we broke up, but I didn’t mean for it to go on this long.”

Hermione’s mouth fell open, she never expected this from Ron. “Ron, I-”

“Let me get this out Hermione,” he pleaded. The look in his eyes stopped the retort she had on the tip of her tongue; whatever Ron had to say, it was obviously important. “At first I couldn’t help but be angry. While I kept my distance, I couldn’t help but see that you and Harry were getting closer and that only made me feel worse. It was easier to blame you guys than to accept that t was partially my fault but I’ve finally figured it out.”

He stood up and pulled his chair back around the bed and sat directly in front of Hermione. He reached forward and gathered both of her hands into his own, making her feel small by how much his hands engulfed her own. Oh, how this kind of contact would have lit a fire in her just a few weeks ago.

“I even tried to convince myself that you both were doing it to spite me, but I get it now,” his gaze drifted over to Harry, a sad smile now on his lips, “I get that whatever we would’ve had is nothing compared to what you two have.”

She couldn’t hold it back anymore, the tears that threatened to fall now were coming without resistance. She launched herself forward and wrapped in a strong hug.

“I’m so sorry Ron.”

“I know Hermione, it’s alright,” he pulled back slightly but didn’t completely disengage from her embrace. “You have to admit though, the whole ‘opposites attract thing sounds like a load of bollocks doesn’t it.” The teasing lilt to his voice kept Hermione from admonishing him for his language, she was far too happy that she had one of her best friends back.

From that point on, conversation passed between them as naturally as it had before they were in a relationship. It felt refreshing to have that weight lifted off her chest, now all she needed was for Harry to wake up and everything would finally be normal again.

Ron got up to leave, giving Hermione a slightly teasing comment about making sure Harry knows before he left for the night, the former silence wrapping itself around her once again.

She had picked up one of her textbooks to read a little bit as she found the quiet to be oppressing. She had read nearly 10 pages before a soft groan broke her concentration. She looked down the infirmary, expecting to see another patient moving about, but found that her and Harry were alone. Movement in the corner of her vision caught her attention and she couldn’t stop the rise in her heart rate at the sight of Harry slowly coming to.

Harry fought through the darkness that shrouded his brain, attempting to figure out what had happened to him. He was able to recognize the fact that he had been unconscious, his multiple injuries over the years making him very familiar with the feeling. Wracking his brain, he tried to recall the last things that happened before everything went dark.

Hogsmeade. Katie. Malfoy.

His mind slowly remembered everything that happened from finding out that Draco was the one who cursed Katie, to his duel with him, and then…nothing. That was the last thing he could recall, meaning that he had evidently lost.

Beginning the all too familiar routine of coming back into himself, he began to regain feeling through his body starting from his fingers and toes, before moving on the center of his body. As the numbness left his center he was aware of a dull ache around his torso and was unable to stop himself from fidgeting and emitting a small groan. As he finally regained feeling throughout his body, the ache turned into pain and he couldn’t but move and groan further.

“Harry!”

The sound of Hermine’s voice helped relieve some of the tension in his body. Leave it to her to once again be by his bedside after being injured. The thought that he was that important to her warmed his heart and despite knowing how disorienting it would be, he had to see her. He slowly opened his eyes allowing them to adjust to the lighting of the Hospital Wing, when he was met by the happy yet teary face of one Hermione Granger.

Before anything could be said between the two, Madam Pomfrey bustled over and conjured a privacy screen so that she could check Harry over, despite his repeated protests. Though he did feel some small pain, it would get better eventually.

He needed to see Hermione.

When the Medi-Witch was finally done, she dispelled the screen and Hermione retook he spot next to Harry’s bed and immediately enclosed his closest hand in both of her’s.

“How are you feeling?”

 “A little sore, but all around okay.” He offered her a smile that she gratefully returned, both content to just look at each other for a moment. He couldn’t think of anywhere else he would rather be than right here with her. The thought was equally scary as it was comforting; to think that he was so inexplicably linked to the girl in front of him was the kind of thing that he never thought would be a reality.

Madam Pomfrey returned with potions in hand and told Harry that he had to take them, making him grown and Hermione chuckle in response. He did as he was told, and once the two of them were alone, they settled back into their comfortable silence.

Hermione was the one to cut through the quiet once again.

“When Katie told me, I took off after you, hoping that I would catch you in time, if mot to stop you then to help you when you went to confront Malfoy. I heard Malfoy say the curse from your potion’s book and when I found you,” she closed her eyes, trying to stop herself from crying. Harry squeezed her hand to reassure her that he was fine and still alive, but it did little to calm her down. Apparently, whatever happened had quite an impact on her. “You were lying on the ground in a pool of your own blood and nothing I did was stopping it. I didn’t know what to do.”

She opened her eyes, the sadness replaced still there as her gaze refocused on him. “I don’t know what would happen if I ever lost you?”

Her last statement caught Harry off-guard. True, he found it hard to believe that he relied on her so heavily, but to hear her essentially say that the same was true for her, honestly scared him a good bit. He opened his mouth not 100% sure what he would even say, before the potions that he had taken started to take effect and he was claimed once again by the comforting darkness of sleep.

Life at Hogwarts had once again found a sense of normality. A few days after regaining consciousness, Harry was out of the Hospital Wing and attending classes again, the only reminder of his most recent stay were the three slash-like scars that went across his torso. Upon his release, Madam Pomfrey had warned him to continue to take it easy for a few days, his recovery taxed his body and left him both physically and magically exhausted. Despite the restrictions on his use of magic, he couldn’t be any more eager to leave the Madam Pomfrey’s care.

Alongside his physical recovery, there was also the recovery of his friendship. He quickly noticed after coming to that Ron and Hermione were back on normal speaking terms with one another and with him. He assumed that they had hashed everything out while he was indisposed but had the wherewithal to understand that whatever sense of peace that his two best friends had come to was a private matter. Though this stopped him from asking, it didn’t stop his curiosity, as he was almost sure that it had something to do with him. He tried to not dwell on it too much, deciding that the renewal of their comradery was enough.

Though Hermione was ecstatic that the awkwardness was gone, she couldn’t but occasionally feel desponded that she hadn’t had the opportunity to have a talk with Harry about her feelings. She assumed that he felt the same, the clarity of her own feelings brought with it an understanding of Harry’s own behavior since her and Ron had begun dating, but she didn’t want to assume. She ultimately decided that the three of them had just gotten some normalcy back to their relationship and chose to let things settle awhile before broaching that particular topic. Still, her mind couldn’t help but analyze the situation and come up with multiple worst case scenarios, such as her choice to wait making Harry think she wasn’t interested or his lack of action meaning that he wasn’t either. She had to mentally shake herself from such thought nearly every day, reminding herself that there was no evidence to suggest any of her wayward thoughts were true.

On top of this, Harry had relayed to herself and Ron that Dumbledore was apparently close to finding one of the Horcruxes and that the Headmaster had given the impression that Harry was to join him. Even without asking, she could tell that Harry was both a little excited to be taking the fight to Voldemort but also apprehensive about whatever they would find. She admonished herself for not figuring out that her intuition into Harry’s thoughts and feelings were an indication towards her own, but now was not the time to be thinking about that.

They all understood that these objects were the reason that Voldemort was unbeatable, and it would only make sense that they would be guarded with the worst traps imaginable to prevent anyone from finding and destroying them. These thoughts and fears were another reason that Hermione elected to not have that conversation with Harry quite yet. As time went on, it was apparent that Harry was getting increasingly nervous and she didn’t want to do anything that would take his mind away from the task that he and Dumbledore had to do.

No, she decided that the conversation that needed to take place between the two of them could wait until after the mission. Once the Horcrux was out of the way, their lives would revert to another brief period of peace, making it the perfect opportunity for her and Harry to talk about the future of their relationship.

Little did she know right that particular thought was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter in the books. If the ending of this chapter seems a little off, it’s because I wanted to save the next major part for the next chapter, but I felt that I needed to connect where this chapter ends and the next one begins. What I have coming up next is hopefully going to be big an I didn’t want to clutter it up by beginning it with the last section of this chapter.  
> There will probably be some people who will be disappointed with where I left Harry and Hermione’s relationship here but trust me for now that it will all matter in the end,


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione decided then and there that she hated waiting. From his position beside her, she could tell Ron felt the same way. They had been sitting in the Common Room for nearly a half an hour, waiting, waiting to hear whether their best friend would be going off to do something dangerous.

_Best Friend._ Hermione scoffed at how incomplete and insufficient it was to refer to Harry as such. She had long since come to terms with her own feelings for the third member of their trio, despite still being in the dark about Harry’s own feelings toward the matter, For the past few weeks since his duel with Malfoy, she felt that her relationship with Harry had definitely changed.

She felt compelled to spend even more time with him than she already had previously, which basically meant that there were few hours of the day that they weren’t together. Ron was with them most of the time since they mended the rift in their friendship, but Hermione still treasured the time that she spent with Harry alone. She found every excuse to hug him and be close, trying to say her feelings to him without actually saying them. Harry’s response to her attention seemed positive, he too started gravitating towards her and reciprocated her affectionate touches, but none of it was enough to convince her that he felt the same; she wanted to be sure of his feelings before she committed that leap of faith.

After another few moments of staring into the fire, they heard the portrait hole opening, revealing Harry as he made straight for the stairs to the boy’s dormitory without even glancing their way. Concerned by his behavior, Hermione sent Ron a look which he interpreted correctly as to go check on Harry. She stood and waited with baited breath for the boys to return. She figured that the mission with Dumbledore that Harry had been alluding to for the last few weeks was indeed happening, but something didn’t feel right.

When Harry and Ron came back down the staircase Harry headed right to her and instantly shoved both his bottle of Felix Felicis and the Marauder’s Map into her hands. She opened her mouth to question him, but he cut her off before she could speak.

“It’s happening tonight.” His serious tone startled her. Though he would never admit it, Harry had been anticipating this mission for a long time, so to hear him sounding so grim was unnerving.

“I understand that but why-”

“Not the mission. Well yes that but,” he ran his hands through his hair as if he couldn’t come up with the words to say. Obviously, whatever it was, was weighing on him immensely. “I mean Malfoy. Whatever he was planning, it’s happening tonight.

After the duel between the two of them, Malfoy had vanished from the school grounds, leaving all the staff baffled. He simply disappeared without any indication on how he had got out. Most had assumed that he had ran to the school boundaries and disapparated.

“But how? How do you know this?”

“I just do!” he half yelled. He quickly cringed at the volume of his voice, before taking a calming breath. “Look, I know that it doesn’t seem likely because he ran away, but I don’t think he would’ve done that without finishing whatever it was that the Death Eaters told him to do. With me and Dumbledore leaving tonight, it’s the perfect time for him to make his move.”

With another shove, she finally took both items from him before he pulled her in close and dropped a quick kiss to her forehead.

“Whatever it is that he’s got planned, we need to stop him. Get anyone you can and just make sure that you stop him alright.” Hearing the conviction in his voice, any protest Hermione had left her brain, as she nodded her assent. He gave both of them another quick nod before he took off to meet up with Dumbledore, leaving Ron and Hermione in charge with what might possibly be the defense of Hogwarts.

It was official, she definitely hated waiting. Here she was, keeping guard near the One-Eyed Witch passageway, waiting for an attack that she wasn’t completely sure would come. It was tedious, standing guard while both Hogwarts staff and Order members were on patrol, and having to dodge them as well due to their unsanctioned guardship. Still, the steel behind Harry’s voice was enough to convince her that she would rather be right and nothing happen, than to ignore Harry’s directions and be wrong.

The only other people that Ron and Hermione had managed to get in contact with were Neville, Ginny, and Luna. Despite their relatively small numbers, they split up evenly in an attempt to try and cover as much ground as possible. Ron, Ginny, and Neville were positioned outside the Room of Requirement, while herself and Luna were overlooking the secret passage to Hogsmeade.

With Luna being more content to hum to herself than to talk right now, all this down time allowed Hermione’s mind to wander, and she began to worry about Harry. Intellectually, she knew that he would be alright since he was with the Headmaster, but that didn’t stop her from imagining many terrible outcomes for this mission. If the Horcrux was so vital to Voldemort’s strength, they wouldn’t be able to retrieve it without encountering some kind of fight. On top of all that, she knew that Harry was incredibly nervous, his behavior when she last saw him was clear enough evidence, but it also seemed like he had other things weighing on his mind. She could only hope and pray that he could keep a clear mind and finish the job so he could come back to her, so she could finally tell him.

“You shouldn’t worry, you know.” Luna’s voice made Hermione jump. She had almost forgotten that the eccentric blonde was there.

“Harry will make it out in one piece, like he always does,” she paused, placing one of her hands on Hermione’s shoulder, “I know it’s hard to believe that, especially when it’s with someone you love.”

Hermione’s eyes threatened to pop out of her skull. So many questions raced through her mind. _How did Luna know how she felt for Harry? Didn’t she have a thing for Harry?_ She decided to ask the second one first. Her mind flashed back to her feelings of jealousy seeing her and Harry together, but after the Quidditch match, her subsequent break-up with Ron, and Harry’s duel with Malfoy, she had completely forgotten about it.

“I’ve always respected Harry greatly, and at one point, that respect grew into feelings for him. When he asked me to Slughorn’s party, I couldn’t help but be excited that he saw me the same way. We got close over Christmas and I was almost sure that he felt the same for me.” Luna’s face grew somber for a moment, and Hermione found the look strange on the normally flamboyant girl, and Hermione couldn’t help but feel a small manner of guilt.

“But then I saw how he looked at you. A look of a man who longed for something that he could never have. At first, I thought I could help him move on from his heartbreak, but nothing seemed to work. I tried and tried, until the day he got hurt during the Quidditch match. I went to the Hospital Wing to see if he was okay, but I saw that you were already there, and when I saw the way you looked at him, I knew I never stood a chance. I left before anyone noticed that I arrived.”

Luna sniffled, as she told her story, but somehow managed to maintain her composure throughout, even though it was clear that these events saddened her greatly. Hermione tried to come up with a proper response that conveyed every emotion she felt at that time, but all she could manage was, “I’m so sorry Luna.”

The younger girls mouth curled up in a small but sad smile. “I’ll be fine. You can’t help who you fall in love with.” She reached out to grab Hermione’s hand reassuringly, but the brunette pulled her into a comforting hug, which Luna gladly reciprocated. After a few seconds, they both pulled back. “We never would’ve had what you to have. I’ve accepted that, and I’m determined to be happy for the two of you. Just promise me one thing,” her gaze turned somewhat serious again, her gaze so intense it seemed like she was trying to peer into Hermione’s soul. “Don’t let him go.”

Hermione nodded her head, and the two of them fell into an easy silence. For a few moments, she was simply glad that Luna was willing to open up about all of this to her. The girl who usually was so strange and far off from everybody else, had trusted her with what she assumed was a very personal and secret plight that she was going through. Despite that, she couldn’t help but feel ecstatic that there was a strong chance that Harry felt the same way about her. She steeled her resolve to talk to Harry once all of this was done. Luna’s last statement rang clear in her mind, and she wasn’t about to ignore it.

Suddenly. Hermione heat coming from the pocket of her robes, noticing that Luna seems to be experiencing the same sensation. She quickly pulls out her DA coin and sees that the message is from Ron. Having agreed earlier to only use the coins if something had happened, she knew that there was trouble up near the Room of Requirement, and took off to find out what was going on with Luna in tow.

When the two of them made it up to the 7th floor, the heard a commotion coming from over near the Astronomy tower and saw that there appeared to be a kind if smoke coming from the direction of the Room of Requirement. Choosing to investigate that first, they ran that way, only to be met by a coughing Ron, Ginny, and Neville charging out of the smoke.

“What’s happening?”

“It’s Malfoy, he somehow got into the Room of Requirement. When we saw him appear he threw down what looked like Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, so we couldn’t see him.”

“And that’s not all”, began Neville with a graveness and steel to his voice that startled everyone else. “He brought Death Eaters.” Hermione gasped as the realization of what Malfoy was truly up to finally hit her.

It was a hostile take-over of Hogwarts. With Harry and Dumbledore away, Voldemort’s two biggest threats were nowhere near to stop his forces from causing as much destruction as possible. Without any further hesitation, Hermione ushered the group forward, and the 5 of them headed towards the sounds of a fight coming from somewhere near the Astronomy Tower.

Hermione checked her watch as they ran towards the fighting. Realizing that it hey still had only 10 minutes before the Felix Felicis wore off, they pressed forward, hoping to stave off whatever threat the Death Eaters provided before the effect of the potion wore off.

Once they reached the corridor that led to the Astronomy Tower, they were met by the sight of multiple battles going on at the same time. Bill and Fleur were battling a group of Death Eaters closest to them, While Kingsley, McGonagall and several other Professors and Order members were engaged in other pockets of battle through the hallway. What startled Hermione the most was the presence of the two that Remus and Tonks were dueling about halfway up the corridor, Greyback and Bellatrix.

Seeing the witch who tortured his parents, Neville charged into the skirmish and started casting spells at the nearest Death Eater. Hermione and the others followed suit, casting every spell in their arsenal trying to stay alive.

Cursed of sickening green and searing red flew back and forth across the corridor as neither side seemed able to gain the upper hand of the other. Though the defenders managed to incapacitate many Death Eaters, there were still many more where those came from, and if left unguarded many were revived by their comrades and reentered the fight.

Hermione was once again thankful for Harry giving them his Liquid Luck, she began to lose count of how many times a spell had just missed either her or any of the other students. Looking to her left, she saw Ginny and Luna teaming up to take on a large Death Eater, while Ron had elected to help Bill and Fleur with their combatants. Neville on the other hand handled himself very well, managing to take down several Death Eaters as he made his way towards Bellatrix.

During the battle, Hermione ended up near the middle of the corridor as she began dueling what seemed like the 9th Death Eater she’d dueled in as many minutes. As she sent stunners and bludgeoning hexes towards her opponent, she caught tidbits of conversation from further down the hall.

“It’s time. The old man’s been spotted at the top of the tower. Send the Malfoy boy up so he can finish the job.”

Hermione felled her opponent with a skill and determination that she didn’t know she had as her mind raced trying to analyze the man’s words. She turned her head and saw the unmistakable form of Draco Malfoy heading up the tower as Bellatrix erected a ward at the entrance If Dumbledore was back and was at the top of the Astronomy Tower, that could only mean one thing. _‘Harry!’_ she cried internally as she forgot all else and turned to head up the tower.

Her carelessness nearly cost her as a spell nearly hit Hermione in the head, but she managed to dodge at the last minute. She instantly regretted taking the potion as soon as the 5 of them went to their stations, because though they still luckily missed her, she could tell that they were getting closer to hitting their mark.

Looking in the direction the spell came from, she was face to face with the menacing figure of Fenrir Greyback. Leveling her wand towards him to attack, she was no match for his superior speed as he pinned her to the wall by her wand arm and her throat. It appeared that her luck had run out.

“A fighter, eh? I might actually get to enjoy this.” The frightening grin on his face terrified Hermione, Whatever the werewolf planned to do with her, she knew that it would spell the end for her.

A flash of light and the grip on her wrist and throat vanished as Greyback was apparently knocked back a few feet by some spell. As Greyback turned towards his attacker, she was pulled away by Fleur and Ron, turning to see Bill continuing to send spell after spell towards Greyback.

An enraged snarl escaped his lips as he made straight for Bill, deflecting all the incoming spells as he ran. Once near enough, Greyback leapt onto Bill and pinned him to the ground. With a fiery anger in his eyes Greyback slashed Bill in the face with his claw-like nails before raising his other arm to continue the onslaught. Before he could, he was hit by another volley of spells, this time from Fleur, Hermione, and Ron. The combined stunners were enough to send Greyback flying towards the stairs that led up to the Astronomy Tower.

With her focus back on the entrance of the tower, she saw Bellatrix revive Greyback before her and several Death Eaters ran up the stairs. Kingsley, Flitwick, and McGonagall made to follow but were thrown back when they attempted to cross the threshold. The three managed to right themselves as they tried to dispel whatever ward was keeping them from continuing upward. As they worked, she saw Professor Snape pass through the ward with no difficulty as he headed up after the Death Eaters.

She would have regarded the situation further but the fighting was still going on and she forced back into a duel with more Death Eaters. Her mind went blank as reflex took over she dueled more Death Eaters for some minutes, until a commotion from the stairwell caught everyone’s attention.

She turned in time to see Snape forcibly directing Malfoy down the corridor, casting spells left and right to clear a path for them, as the other Death Eaters who were in the tower with them came bustling behind them, cackling and whooping for joy as they went. Immediately assuming the worst, Hermione ignored the retreating threat and ran towards the tower, intent on seeing if Harry was okay. Her search was for not, as Harry came sprinting down the stairs, ignoring the small pockets of fighting that were still going on and took off after Snape and Malfoy.

The last of the Death Eaters still fighting were all stunned and bound as Hermione took off after Harry, with several other people right behind her. They ran all the way down until they exited the castle and were met by the sight of Hagrid’s Hut up in flames. Hermione screamed in horror at the sight but a gasp to her right stole her attention away. Her head swiveled around to see a large group congregating near the bottom of the astronomy tower.

Pushing through all the bodies blocking her path, she eventually made it to the site of the disturbance, a pained gasped escaping her throat at what she saw.

Harry was kneeling on the ground, looking more broken than she had ever seen him, next to the limp body of one Albus Dumbledore.

Sat together during Dumbledore’s funeral, Harry and Hermione watched with mixed emotions as it seemed that the entirety of magical Britain had turned up to send the former Headmaster off. Harry scoffed as he saw less than sincere faces of Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge among others that he was sure were only there for the publicity and not for a genuine reason.

He felt Hermione shudder against him and his mind rifted to the events of the last few days. He remembered kneeling on the ground, watching the lifeless form of Dumbledore before Hermione managed to get him up and to the infirmary. From there he told them all about Snape’s betrayal, Malfoy’s plan, and heard how Bill was attacked for saving Hermione. Realizing that he almost lost her, he kept her close for the next few days, despite knowing what he had to do. She was in danger being anywhere near him.

Once the ceremony was over, the two of them, accompanied by Ron, went by the lake and discussed their plans for finding the rest of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. He initially tried to convince them that it was too dangerous, but Hermione vehemently shot down the suggestion, causing Harry’s heart to glow with affection and plummet at the same time. Eventually, Ron excused himself to go be with his family, leaving just Harry and Hermione alone once again.

“Harry, I have something important to tell you.”

Harry’s heart stopped at her words. Somehow, he knew what she was going to say. For weeks now, he had noticed the shift in his relationship, and contrary to popular opinion, he wasn’t clueless. He had figured out Hermione’s feelings a little over a week ago, but now was the worst time for her to try and bring it up, now that he had to push her away.

“You’re my best friend Harry. You always have, and I know you always will, and for a while that was all you were and all I need,” she paused and reached for his hand, her words stunning him and making him temporarily forget his resolve, “But for a while now I’ve felt-”

“No.”

He cringed as he saw her eyes widen, her words halting immediately by his surprising rebuttal. He wanted nothing more than to confront her, but he had to be strong.

“I can’t do this Hermione,” his hands curled into fists, his felt like poison in his mouth. “I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Luna, you’re better off with someone else.”

“When did you say this to Luna?” she tried to mask the hurt in her voice but was unsuccessful.

“The night I got the Memory from Slughorn. I met her on my way to Hagrid’s and she said that she started feelings things too. After I told her, she looked heartbroken but I had to do it.”

Hermione knew what he was trying to do. He could be so noble, so self-sacrificing sometime that it honestly aggravated her. Luna’s words flashed through her mind, she wasn’t letting him go without a fight.

“Well, I talked with Luna too, before the battle. Do you know wat she told me?” it was impossible to discern what Harry was thinking from his facial expression. He was adamant to not give anything away. “She told me that yes she did care for you, and she felt that you could learn to care for her too. But it would be nothing, compared to how we feel.” She reached forward and grabbed Harry’s hand. He appeared to relax for a moment before snapping his hand away.

“We can’t do this Hermione, it’s too dangerous.” He tried to walk away but she grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at her.

“Look me in the eyes Harry, and be honest with me. Do you love me?”

Harry’s eyes widened. His mind raced as he processed her question. True he had assumed that he might love her for a while, but looking at her now, he knew without a shadow of a doubt what the answer was. But he couldn’t do it.

“No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry about the cliffhanger, but it will be resolved quickly in the next chapter. Chapter 10 will include both a time jump and a little epilogue, so it is in fact the closing chapter of this story.  
> I also want to address one or two things quick. Firstly, with how many writers try to portray Luna as being this really insightful character, I feel many forget that she is a teenage girl, so I attempted to display that, while also keeping her somewhat odd and insightful. Also in case you didn’t figure it out, Harry’s conversation with Luna took place while he was using the Liquid Luck, which is why she easily got over Harry’s rejection, like how the potion helped ease Ron and Hermione’s break up. If you have a problem with this remember, in canon, the potion is a factor to the Ron/Lavender and Ginny/Dean break ups.  
> I included the bit with Bill for 2 reasons. 1 is simply for something in the epilogue and also because I wanted to put more weight behind his injury than there is in the books.  
> See you guys in the final chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter of this story. The first bit takes place a year after the previous chapter and the epilogue takes place 16 years later. Enjoy!

Hermione climbed up the final set of stairs towards Gryffindor Tower. Standing outside the Portrait Hole, she was surprised by how familiar yet unbelievable being back here was. It was only a year ago that she and her two best friends left Hogwarts, expecting never to return, but they were finally back.

She could hear the chatter of voices coming from far off in the castle, and couldn’t hold back a groan at the fact that someone had evidently decided to follow her. She was bone tired and wanted nothing more than to get away and relax, but deep down she knew that it wasn’t meant to be, not when there was plenty of reason to celebrate.

They won. Voldemort is dead and the Wizarding World is at peace once again. An impossible task and a journey that stretched on for what seemed like an eternity had finally ended by a single spell.

Finally making the steps inside the Common Room, her eyes immediately went to her favorite spot, hoping to find the one person she wished to talk to more than anyone else. Sadly, he wasn’t present and Hermione deflated as she took a seat in front the extinguished fire. Harry had taken his invisibility cloak and vanished shortly after they had returned from Dumbledore’s office. Her and Ron had stuck around for a while before Ron eventually went up get some rest. The attention became too much by herself so she went try and find Harry but with no luck.

Her gaze drifted from the small embers to a nearby window, from which she could Dumbledore’s tomb in the distance. Her mind began to drift to the conversation her and Harry had after the funeral.

_ Flashback _

_“No.”_

_Hermione couldn’t believe her ears. Here she had attempted to open her heart up to Harry and yet he claimed to not feel the same way. Had she misread the signs? Was Luna wrong?_

_Her eyes were on the verge of tearing up, she bent her head down for a moment to try and compose herself. She finally had the resolve to look up and meet Harry’s eyes, and when she did, she saw something in his eyes that were telling. There she found the sadness that she expected, but it was coupled with other emotions, like compassion and longing._

_Suddenly, everything made sense. Harry, stupid noble Harry, wasn’t rejecting her because he didn’t love her, it was the exact opposite. He was rejecting her because he wanted to keep her safe. Though she didn’t agree with the sentiment, and couldn’t deny that it made her a little upset, she understood it and tried to fight through the negative emotions._

_“I don’t believe you.”_

_His eyes widened just as it had moments ago, but she wasn’t about to let him try and deter her again._

_“You’re scared Harry, scared something between us would make me a target but I’m already a target. I’m Muggleborn and your already my best friend.”_

_“But if they caught you and found out we-”_

_“I’m not afraid Harry. Nothing will keep me from helping you beat him. You shouldn’t be afraid Harry, but I know you have to work through that yourself, but believe me when I say, I’m not giving up on us Harry.”_

_Harry’s mouth seemed like it was locked perpetually open, surprised by her statement. Slowly, a small smile grew on his face and Hermione’s heart grew warm with love and affection._

_“I don’t deserve you Hermione. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but wait for me Hermione. When this is all over and we survive this-”_

_She put a finger on his lips to stop him from talking, before taking his head in her hands and kissing his forehead, like he did to her before the attack. When she pulled away, they exchanged smiles before turning towards the Black Lake, relishing in the few moments of peace they had left. War was coming, and they would be fighting in the thick of it_

_ Flashback End _

Hermione remembered that she made a promise to herself that day. She promised that she was going to do whatever it took to survive the war. She promised to fight for a better tomorrow, a world where he, her parents, and others could live away from oppression and fear, More importantly, she fought for Harry, for the love that she felt for him and the love he felt for her, and though he wasn’t ready, she fought for them.

And fight for them. Throughout their nearly year-long journey, she attempted to change Harry’s mind about their relationship and to let go of his fear. Harry, however, was adamant about his choice, making Hermione wonder a few times if what she was after was worth it, but there were a few moments now and then that convinced her otherwise.

Despite his refusal, Hermione had managed to get through to him and they even kissed on three separate occasions. The first one was the night before they left for their mission Harry’s birthday. She had cornered him and kissed him softly on the lips in the bedroom that she and Ginny were sharing. She was presently surprised that he didn’t pull away, relaxing into the slow kiss for a few moments before rebuking her once again when they parted.

The second occasion was after he was attacked by Nagini at Godric’s Hollow. He was unconscious for nearly two days afterwards, and the nagging worry that he would never wake up thoroughly wrecked her nerves. When he finally did wake up, she couldn’t stop herself later that night from launching herself into his arms and pulling into a demanding kiss. It seemed to go on before once again Harry pulled away. She was afraid that they might never get a chance to be together and told him as such. Harry told her that when they got together, a statement that made Hermione smile despite herself, he wanted to be because they wanted to not because they were afraid. He later revealed to her that their future together was what he was fighting for, she agreed with him but didn’t truly understand until a few months later.

Their third kiss was after they were taken to Malfoy Manor, after she was tortured by Bellatrix. Harry remained by her side every moment for the first few days after they escaped to the Shell Cottage. On the 2nd day, once she had enough strength to leave her bed, her and Harry ad once again found themselves wrapped in a passionate embrace, this time initiated by Harry. This time, she was the one to pull away, echoing Harry’s words after Nagini’s attack, telling him that she wanted him to be with her despite his fear not because of it. He begrudgingly agreed, and their relationship started to turn even more intimate.

During their stay, Fleur had sked her if her and Harry were together, and when Hermione said they weren’t, Fleur was surprised, saying that the two of them acted exactly like a couple, just without the kissing and intimacy. Hermione wanted to ask Harry if he was ready to try for something between them, but things she never got the chance. Once she was deemed strong enough, they immediately began planning to infiltrate Gringotts and never had the opportunity.

Now the war was finally over, and all that was left for her to do was to find Harry and have the conversation that she’s been dying to have with him. She started to sift through possible places he could be in her head when a disturbance from the other side of the room caught her attention. Turning her head, she saw Ron leaning at the bottom of the dormitory stairs, smiling fondly at her.

“He’s here you know”, he began, having obviously deciphered what was going through her head at that moment. She felt glad that they were all so in tune with each other and that their friendship had survived another near breaking point. “Found him up in his old bed, try to get some rest. But we both know that there is something more important that he needs to do.”

She nodded her head and got up from her seat, readying herself for whatever reaction she would get from Harry about this conversation. She had waited nearly a year for this moment, and she wasn’t about to squander it. She had made all of two steps before Ron grabbed her by he wrist and stopped her in her tracks.

“Listen, there’s something I need to get off my chest.”

“Ron, if this about you leaving, I know it was the Horcrux, there’s nothing to apologize for that hasn’t already been forgiven.”

“But that’s just it Hermione, the Horcrux didn’t make me think that way, it just made it easier to believe my own jealousy.” He paused briefly and took a deep breath before speaking again. “I’m not gonna lie Hermione, during those first few months after we left, I was convinced that things would work out and we would end up together.” He raised his hand to stop he from arguing against him, and continued once she understood that he needed to say this. “I know we had said that we both moved on, and for the most part I did, but in the back of my mind I kept up hope, and since Harry seemed like he wasn’t going to pursue you anytime soon, I made myself believe that you would eventually come back to me. I understand that that would never happen now, my abandoning you too, and you staying despite my attempts to convince made me see that. So, I just wanted to say I’m sorry again, it shouldn’t be enough and I’m grateful that both you and Harry still treat me like family.”

With tears in her own eyes, Hermione launched herself at Ron, enclosing him in a hug that was both sturdy and affectionate. She pulled back to kiss his cheek, and saw in his eyes that he understood that all was forgiven.

“Now get up there see Harry. You deserve some happiness, both of you.”

With one last smile, he departed from the Common Room, where he was headed, Hermione didn’t know but her conversation with Ron strengthened her resolve to see Harry. She made the climb up to the top most dormitory. She wasn’t sure what state Harry would be in, so she carefully opened the door, and smiled at the sight that waited her inside.

Harry was lying down on one of the four poster beds, one arm laying underneath his head, his face and general posture more relaxed than at any point she had ever known him. She began to make her way towards his bed, but it didn’t seem as though he had noticed her presence. At first, she assumed that he was sleeping, but could tell that he wasn’t yet due to his breathing still moving at a normal pace. Still, she couldn’t help but feel the joy at the peacefulness that the young man in front of her exuded.

“How long were you planning on staring at me?”

Harry’s unexpected question caused Hermione to physically jump back from the bed. Harry flashed her a teasing smile, making her want nothing more than to be annoyed with him, but she was happy that he was in a good enough mood for jokes. She sat down on the edge of his bed and the two fell into a comfortable silence. There was so much that needed to be said between the two of them, but Hermione wanted Harry to start, it was his fault that they waited until now to have this talk.

“So…I don’t know if you’ve noticed but the war is over.”

“I kind of noticed Harry. Twice today I thought it was over, though, the first time wasn’t nearly as pleasant.”

She saw him visibly cringe when at the mention of him supposedly turning up dead. He could tell that there was anger underlying her words. He understood when he left her and Ron on the Grand Staircase that he would break her heart but he had to do. He quickly sat up and gently grasped one of her hands as he attempted to apologize.

“I’m so sorry Hermione, but I was sure it was the only way.”

“But why didn’t you tell us that you’d survive again?”

“Because I didn’t think I would,” he replied. He explained everything, from his conversation with his parents, which caused her to briefly forget her anger and hug him, to his conversation with Dumbledore. She seemed content with his explanation, there was still something on her mind.

“I believe you Harry, but you made it seem like it was easy for you to leave me behind. Why?”

He had the decency to look ashamed by her question. “I convinced myself that it was for the best, that if nothing came between us, then it would be easier for you to move on.”

“That’s not for you to decide Harry!” she was close to shouting at this point and though he recoiled slightly, he seemed ready to accept whatever punishment she had for him. “I wanted you Harry, and it seemed that it meant nothing to you.”

“Please believe that that’s not true Hermione. I do care a lot about you but I didn’t want to cause you anymore pain.”

“A lot of good that did you.”

He immediately looked down, but didn’t immediately realize his mistake. He suddenly felt a sharp pain on the side of his head as Hermione smacked him upside the head.

“Ow! Blimey Hermione!”

“That was for dying on me Harry Potter!” He met her eyes as he rubbed the spot where she had hit him. “And this is just for being you.” She grabbed his head with both hands and pulled him in for a passionate kiss, but this time, there was no war over their heads, preventing them from enjoying this. This kiss went on for several minutes until Hermione felt she got her point across, and when she pulled away, she nearly giggled at the look on Harry’s face.

“I love you.”

She couldn’t find the will to fight off the grin that was forming on her face. “I know.”

This time Harry pulled her in, and they right back where they were moments ago, not that Hermione was complaining. She had waited for this moment, and judging by Harry’s enthusiasm, so had he. The passion continued to increase until Hermione was half laying on top of Harry, and one of her hands had found its way up his shirt, while his found rest on her bottom.

This time Harry pulled away, and Hermione let out a whine that she normally would have been embarrassed about but she currently couldn’t care less.

“Not that I’m not _very interested_ in seeing where this was going,” he slowly pulled her down until she was lying on his chest, sense of peace settling in her chest and the effects of the past few days finally catching up with her, as her eyes began to droop shut, “but we just beat the greatest dark wizard of our time and I want to finally get a good night’s sleep.” He dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head as sleep claimed the two of them, but his last words floated to Hermione’s ears just as she was losing consciousness.

“Besides, I think we have the rest of our lives for that.”

**_ 15 Years Later _ **

King’s Cross was busy as it was on every September 1st within memory. Especially in the last couple of years, the number of wizarding families who elected to have kids increased, meaning that Hogwarts has more students than ever before. How so many families managed to make it on to Platform 9 3/4 without getting noticed each year is nothing short of a miracle.

One such family was calmly strolling towards the barrier that leads to the Hogwarts express, three students moving at an excited pace in front of their parents. Harry and Hermione smiled fondly as the oldest of the trio, 15-year-old Teddy Lupin, helped his adopted siblings with their belongings. Three years after the war, Andromeda’s health had taken a turn for the  worse, leaving her unable to care for him full time. Luckily, Harry and Hermione were completely willing to take over custody of him, while still letting Andromeda spend plenty of time with her grandson, until she passed away peacefully four years later.

The two younger ones were Harry and Hermione’s twin daughter and son, Jamie and Will. They were fraternal twins, Jamie sporting her father’s dark hair with her mother’s eyes, while Will inherited the opposite features. Both kids had recently turned 11 and were about to embark on their first trip to Hogwarts. Jamie seemed anxious to run on ahead and run straight towards the barrier, but her father’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.

“Easy now Jamie. We’ve got to make sure the coast is clear first. We wouldn’t want any poor muggle to get suspicious, now would we?”

“Sorry Dad,” said Jamie, her cheeks blushing as her father ruffled her hair. Once they had decided that the coast was clear. The five of them ran towards the barrier and onto the platform. The sight of the Hogwarts train was still a sight to behold, even after 15 years of being out of school.

“Took you guys long enough!”

Harry and Hermione turned to catch Ron approaching with his wife Padma and their son Panju.

“Had a few things that we needed to get ready for before the school year starts.”

Since leaving school, all three of them had decided to enter the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, with Harry and Ron joining the Auror Corps and Hermione became a prosecutor. Within the next 10 years, Ron left to join George in running Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, while Hermione and Harry both rose to the top of the department as Director and Head Auror respectively.

Ron patted him on the shoulder and gave Hermione and their kids a hug before heading off to help Panju with his trunk. Teddy also went to get on the train, stating that he had prefect duties to attend to, but everyone noticed the presence of Victoire Weasley beside him as he got on.

Harry turned to his kids and got down on one knee to talk to them briefly. “Alright, it’s time you two. Now I want you two to write your mum and I as soon as your settled in. We both want to know what house you two have made it in.”

“But dad,” began Will, the more reserved of the two siblings, “what if we get put in different houses. What if neither of us get into Gryffindor?”

“And why should that matter Will?”

“Knowing all the stories about what you and mum have done, I just want to make you guys proud.”

“And you will make us proud son, both you and your sister, even though she claims that it doesn’t bother her.”

“Hey!” came the girl in question and even though she attempted to harden her expression, he could still tell that what he said was true. He was their father after all.

“Whatever house either of you make it in, I know you will excel, and even if you’re both separated, being in different houses doesn’t mean that you won’t be close anymore.” He was aware of how close his son and daughter were. They went everywhere together and he couldn’t help but smile that the thought that they would be sorted into different houses affected them so much.

“You really think so?” Jamie had allowed her mask to fall her eyes wide as she stared at her father.

“Yes, I really do.”

He suddenly found himself engulfed into a pair of hugs by both of his kids, one that he gladly returned. He gave them both a kiss on the cheek, before they ran to say goodbye to their mother and before he knew it, the train was pulling away, taking their kids away from the for the first time.

“Do you think they’ll be alright?”

He turned to Hermione and stared at the women that he married almost 2 years ago. He still found himself enraptured by her beauty even after all these years together. Instead of immediately answering he gave her a quick kiss to reassure her that she had nothing to fear. When he pulled away, he smirked as her eyes slowly opened and a matching smirk appeared on her face. Sighing contentedly, they both turned as the Hogwarts express pulled out of sight, as their kids began their own adventure.

All was well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here it is the concluding chapter. Thanks to everyone who stuck with this story from the start to end. I’m not usually a fan of most epilogues in fanfiction, but I felt like I had to write at least one and I figured this story was as good of a place as any.  
> If you’re wondering about any of the names, I decided to use the whole Ron/Padma/Panju thing because I guess it is at least semi-canon. As for Will and Jamie, I liked the name Will Potter and it works with Bill’s actions in the previous chapter, whereas I haven’t seen any stories where Harry has a daughter named Jamie so I figure I’d try. I might revisit the end scenario in a future one-shot or something but I make no guarantees.  
> I hope this story has been satisfactory and I plan to keep writing more stories that I hope you all can enjoy.   
> As always, thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my take on a H/Hr 6th year story, My reasoning is that the whole Ron/Hermione/Lavender love triangle was all started by Harry and Ron catching Ginny and Dean kissing. If that hadn't occurred, then Ron wouldn't feel the need to kiss Lavender and the next most likely candidate would be Hermione. This event also may jump started Harry's feeling for Ginny. If he can suddenly have feeling for her after seeing her kissing someone, then it stands to reason that t could've just as easily happened with Hermione.  
> I hope this is a good start. I had a previous draft typed up and was happy with it, but I lost a lot of my files before I could save a back-up. This version is close but I can't help but feel dissatisfied with it. Maybe at some point I'll come back and try to rewrite this.  
> As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
